They say good things come in small packages.

And that"s exactly what Apple had in mind when they decided to roll out the iPad mini.

The iPad mini hit the shops today but is the fourth generation iPad just a midget version of its forefather the original iPad?

Motivation

The muted reaction of shoppers in Asia and Australia this morning suggests that there is less excitement about this product.

Queues were reported to be shorter than previous product releases.

Apple"s motivation might be a reason why shoppers are wary.

The company is currently engaged in combat with Google and Amazon, as it attempts to enter the fray in the smaller tablet market.

The iPad mini will go into direct confrontation with Amazon"s Kindle and Google"s Nexus 7.

Features

The mini has a display size of 7.9 inches which is almost two inches smaller than the original iPad.

And every one of the 275,000 iPad apps on the App store are also compatible on the mini.

Its Internet connectivity is superior to the the original iPad with faster Wi Fi access.

But it is still signifcantly more expensive than its rivals.

The iPad retails at a price of about €250 which is €100 more expensive than the Kindle.

That could put off potential buyers in a crowded market place.

But apart from its size, the mini does not seem to present itself as a stand-alone product in comparison to the iPad.