1. iPad mini will never happen. Slashing the display size of the iPad in half would ruin the interface and appearance of many apps and for what? Competing against a loss-leader focused on selling books. Not worth it.
2. iPad 2 will probably remain on the market with a price cut, but to $250-300? No way. Probably $400 for the base model, maybe $350 if Apple really feels like putting pressure on the few tablets which have managed to gain market traction.
3. Tablets and handheld consoles are really only competing in the broadest sense that both are mobile and both can be entertaining. Smartphones remain the most dangerous threat to handheld consoles, and it's a threat that the 3DS at least seems to be weathering.
Right now I stand by my position that while surging mobile computing hasn't been the death blow to handheld consoles that some predicted, it has put a damper on the market and stolen its growth away. Just look at VGC handheld console totals for the past few years (had to add GBA shipment figures linked below, WTF VGC?):
http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/library/historical_data/pdf/consolidated_sales_e1112.pdf
2004: 20.9 million units
2005: 36.0 million units
2006: 38.6 million units
2007 (year of the iPhone): 46.6 million units
2008 (year of the App Store and Android): 41.5 million units
2009: 37.9 million units
2010: 31.0 million units
2011: 31.1 million units
Saturation of old models and rising hardware prices on new models? Maybe. But don't be shocked if the next couple years show that dedicated handheld consoles have peaked.
"The worst part about these reviews is they are [subjective]--and their scores often depend on how drunk you got the media at a Street Fighter event." — Mona Hamilton, Capcom Senior VP of Marketing
*Image indefinitely borrowed from BrainBoxLtd without his consent.
