What's that saying? Never look a gift horse in the mouth?
To Apple the buying public are sheep. The buying sheep demand the iPad mini. The buying sheep will pay for it. Apple will supply it, and sell out. That's why the iPad mini will cost $329. And it doesn't matter that the Amazon’s Kindle Fire is half the price, or that the Nexus 7 is also way cheaper!
Me? I don't buy Coca-Cola, like all the "sheep". I'm quite happy with the Cola versions in places like Lidl and Aldi. In my view equal products, doing the same thing, only one happens to be the market leader and costs a darn sight more than the others. For the same reason, I won't be buying an iPad mini.
So good luck to Apple. When there is cash for the grabbing why bother looking the sheep in the mouth?