Apple will begin to take pre-orders for the iPad Mini on Friday, Oct. 26, coincidentally -- or not -- also the launch date for Microsoft's Windows 8 and its first-ever in-house tablet, the Surface RT.

"Apple will sell truckloads of the iPad Mini this holiday season," said Patrick Moorhead, principal analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy, earlier today.

In a later interview, he expanded on that.

"The reason why I think they will still sell so many, even at the higher price of $329, is the allure of having a tablet in that $299 range brings in a completely different class of buyers, people who always wanted an iPad, but didn't want to spend $499 or $599," Moorhead said.

But he wasn't completely happy with the $329. "The natural price point is $299, and it will be $299 over time, but the difference between $299 and $329 lets them cut the price at some point," Moorhead said. "That's why I think what they are doing here is testing the [pricing] waters. But it's going to be a measurement stick of how much money Apple can garner."