Whereas when you buy an android mobile or tablet, you are safe in the knowledge that your device is out of date before it was even on the shelf.

Apple release refreshes every 12 months normally, similar to every other manufacturer...see Samsung, Google, Nokia etc...the plus point is that when the Apple device is released, its normally the best in its field....not underpowered or under supported from day one....see Google and Microsoft.

I don't get all the apple hate.  Granted I will agree that you pay a bit more for a bit less under the hood, but i've worked with Apple products for the past 10 years and one thing I can say is they work with software and any other hardware I need them to absolutely seemlessly out of the box.  I've had my macbook pro for 5 years now and although it doesn't have the same ram and other specs as my co-workers' 2 year old ALMOST JUST AS EXPENSIVE PC, I have significantly less problems with my machine than he does.  Plus it looks so damned sexy

I'd say that Android is more than competing in the tablet space. As an iOS user, I tend to stay within that ecosystem. It has all my apps, my stored info, and is tailored for my personal needs.

With that said, I'd buy a Nexus 7 before an iPad Mini. It's specced better, it's 60% of the price, and it's a damned fine tablet.

Apple completely underwhelmed me with the Mini. If it was specced as-is, it should be $249 (Google is selling the Nexus 7 at cost, I don't expect Apple to do the same). Shit, I'd even begrudgingly accept it at $299.

But $329? Are you kidding me?

The Mini is the ONLY flagship Apple product you can argue is overpriced. Every other product is priced fairly and within its market. The iPhone has beastly internals. The full-sized iPad is a powerhouse that is absolutely annihilating the competition. The Mini? Not so much.

Overpriced. What is that?

A product is worth what you are willing to pay for it. If you can't afford it don't buy it. No one is holding a gun to your head.

If you can't afford business fly standard class. If you can't afford a Rolex buy a Timex.

If an iPad is out of your price range buy an Android tablet.

It's an individual's money and they are free to spend it on what they want. If they choose to spend it on what may be considered "overpriced" by some what concern is that of anyone else?

Things are overpriced when you can find a similar or superior product for much less money. You can do that with the Mini.

It's absurd that the Mini is $330 and the iPad is $500. Look at the difference in those two devices. They share absolutely  nothing in common past the title "iPad". One is a cutting edge powerhouse that is the top of its class while the device that is roughly ~70% of its price is built entirely from components sourced in 2010. That's pretty bad.

It has nothing to do with afforability and has everything to do with "why would you pay $330 for a Mini when the $500 iPad is ten times the device in every way, shape, and form?"

Actually not so very very true at all. Apple simply had a head start in the tablet market.

Just a few days ago, IDC released new numbers showing that during the last quarter alone, Apple's share of the tablet market has dropped over 15%, from 65 percent to 50, while sales of Android tablets greatly increased and are now at about 40%.

https://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS23772412

So it might be just a matter of 3-6 months until Android rules the tablet market as well.

really? i thought andriod tablet sales were abymsal, this is good news to hear. you know how many andriod tablets were sold?

If someone of your friends bought a PC 2 years ago and it manages to have less specs than a 5 year old macbook pro and have cost them the same price... well all I can say is the sales person saw your friends coming. you are talking about a PC with 2gb of ram and a single core 2ghz processor in 2010 you are literally talking about 100euros worth of PC hardware.

In terms of market share, tablets are gradually going the same way as mobiles. Apple gets a spike when a new iPad (or two) comes out, but the overall trend is that Android tablets are consistently growing in overall market share (especially since Android 4.x). IPads still outsell Android tablets, but give it a year or two and Android will likely be ahead in overall market share.

The one thing that could throw a major spanner in the works for both companies is Microsoft Windows 8 tablets. At the very least they're competitive.