"The iPad mini looks like another great piece of hardware from Apple, we cannot wait to get our hands on it," said Joel Meadows, Marketing Director at . "We've been waiting for Apple to announce this mini iPad for a couple of years now, as we think that it will help expand the tablet market even further, while also helping to bridge the gap between the iPhone and the iPad perfectly. We're also very pleased to hear that full versions of all apps are compatible with the mini."

Overall, accessory makers predicted the iPad mini pretty well, but there were still some unexpected elements.

"Thanks to many leaks in the press, there weren't many surprises. However, the pricing was higher than expected. For many consumers, £270 is still not an impulse buy," said Bush from MediaDevil.

It was hard to guess what price tag Apple would be putting on the iPad mini, but the now announced £269 starting price is higher than competing 7in tablets such as and Google's Nexus 7. Apple's , though, saying that Apple customers will choose the iPad mini for the quality without being put off by the higher price.

"There were no real surprises in what the iPad mini offers, although we were not expecting the final chassis to be quite as slim as it is," Overboard's Joel Meadows said. "Apple has really excelled itself in the design quality and ergonomics of the iPad mini, with the smaller border, the device should fit and feel comfortable in one hand."