Report says entry level Apple iPad mini will price at $329 in the U.S.

Earlier on Saturday, we told you about an analyst who is expecting the entry level Apple iPad to be priced at $299. Now, we have another report stating that there will be 12 variations of the smaller Apple tablet and that the price of the Apple iPad miniwill start at $329. Sources for 9to5Mac say that the entry level model will have 16GB of storage and offer Wi-Fi connectivity only. Two versions of the Wi-Fi only model will have more storage (32GB and 64GB) and be priced at $429 and $529 respectively.

The version of the Apple iPad mini that connects to a cellular network (GSM/LTE) is expected to have the same premium to the Wi-Fi only version, $130, as the third generation of the Apple iPad has. That would mean the Wi-Fi plus cellular price for the Apple iPad mini would be $459 (16GB), $559 (32GB) and $659 (64GB). Now, we are sure that some of you eagle-eyed math whiz types are saying that this adds up to only 6 variations and we opened this story by talking about 12 variations. The remaining variations are based on color. There will be a white model and a black model.

This report compares with the pricing expected by Europe's largest electronics retailer, Media Mrkt, which shows 16 different variations of the Apple iPad mini. The retailer's inventory system shows 8GB, 16GB, 32GB and 64GB models of the device in both Wi-Fi only and cellular versions available in black or white. That report had the 16GB Wi-Fi model going for $350 which comes pretty close to the $323 estimate that the source for 9to5Mac is calling for.

We've mentioned before how the Apple iPad mini is expected to compete with the low priced 7 inch Android models like the Amazon Kindle Fire HD and the 8GB (soon to be 16GB) Google Nexus 7, both priced at $199. Can Apple really compete in this arena with a price starting $130 above the competition? Apple's media event on October 23rd will introduce the tablets and the battle will begin.

source: 9to5Mac via RedmondPie