Apple makes ipad mini

Apple Inc.'s new iPad is small in size but not low in price — and that's got consumers grumbling and Wall Street worried.

By launching a 7.9-inch iPad mini that is as thin as a pencil and as light as a pad of paper, Apple threw itself into the market for smaller tablets currently ruled by its rivals.

But with a higher-than-expected price for the device, the technology giant may run into difficulty stealing customers away from Amazon.com Inc.'s Kindle Fire HD or Google Inc.'s Nexus 7. The iPad mini starts at $329. Many analysts and consumers had hoped to see a starting price of $250.

Investors appeared to be disappointed, sending Apple's shares down $20.67, or 3.3%, to $613.36 on Tuesday after the company announced the new tablet at an invitation-only media event held at the California Theatre in downtown San Jose. Apple's stock has now fallen 12.4% since it released the iPhone 5 on Sept. 21.

Apple already sells the world's bestselling tablet with the regular-size iPad. The company recently sold its 100 millionth iPad, 21/2 years after its debut, and the iPad accounts for 91% of tablet Web traffic.

Analysts said Apple's move into the smaller-tablet market is a sign that the company doesn't want to cede ground to rivals amid a rapidly growing industry for portable touchscreen devices.

In US the iPad mini is available for pre-order on Friday and will ship by Nov. 2 for Wi-Fi-only versions and two weeks later for models that come with a cellular data plan. It will be available for ordering in Canada and dozens of other countries on Oct. 26, and shipped a week later.

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