iPad Mini Prices Rumoured To Start At £200

Prices of the iPad mini will start at around £200 in Europe, according to a screenshot taken from a German electronics chain.

Media Markt has apparently put the prices and specifications of 16 configurations of iPad mini on its internal inventory system.

An unnamed source managed to take a screenshot of the details, which appeared on tech blogs Cashys Blog and Flo's Weblog .

The existence of the iPad mini has not even been officially announced. But the screenshot from the electronic retailer shows the cheapest version - a Wi-Fi 8GB tablet - alongside a price of 249 euros - £201.

The mini is said to be available in black or white for all configurations, with the cellular version of the 8GB device apparently going for 349 euros - £282.

The most expensive version of the iPad mini - a 64GB cellular version - has a price of 649 euros, or £525, against it.

Even if the inventory screenshot is genuine, it is still unclear whether Media Markt, which is owned by Media-Saturn Holding, which also operates the Saturn chain, has submitted accurate pricing figures.

Some tech watchers, such as Mobile Geeks , have cautioned the prices may just be generic "holding" figures - an amount entered in the data field until specific pricing data comes through from Apple.

But if the information is correct, it means the cheapest iPad mini is around half the price of the standard £399 entry-level iPad.

The iPad mini has apparently been developed to take on the Amazon Kindle HD and Google Nexus 7 in the small tablet market.

Each of these costs £159, a price at which they would still undercut the iPad mini if the figures are right.

While Apple routinely refuses to comment on its products ahead of time, the California-based firm is said to be holding a launch event next week.

A source quoted by the Reuters news agency said a special event would be held on Tuesday, October 23, which is widely expected to be the announcement of the mini.