Apple Inc. is refusing to compete on price with its rivals in the tablet market — it’s pricing its new, smaller iPad well above the competition.
On Tuesday, the company revealed the iPad Mini, with a screen that’s about two-thirds the size of the full-size model, and said it will cost $329 and up.
Apple starts taking orders for the new model on Friday Oct. 26, said marketing chief Phil Schiller at an event in San Jose, Calif. Wi-Fi-only models on Nov. 2. Later, the company will add models capable of accessing “LTE” wireless data networks.
The price fits into the Apple product lineup between the iPad 2 at $399 and the latest version of the iPod touch at $299. But company watchers had been expecting Apple to price the iPad Mini at $250 to $300 to counter the threat of less expensive tablets like Amazon.com Inc.’s Kindle Fire, which starts at $159. Barnes & Noble Inc.’s Nook HD and Google Inc.’s Nexus 7 both start at $199.
Apple shares fell $14.83, or 2.3 percent, to $619.20 when the price was announced. Shares of Barnes & Noble Inc. jumped 91 cents, or 6.3 percent, to $15.35.
Shares of Amazon.com Inc. were down 12 cents, or less than 0.1 percent, at $233.66 while the rest of the stock market was in retreat.
