From Saturday's piece:

Short of revealing that unicorns are real and you can all have one for a nickel, there’s really no way Apple can make everyone happy at these announcements. What matters is sales, and the Macalope fully expects the iPad mini to sell quite briskly without making the huge margin sacrifices Apple’s competitors have had to make. That’s good for Apple customers and for Apple, no matter what you might hear.

As usual, The Macalope nails it. I highly reccomend subscribing to its feed.

Apple seems to have made a sensible move with the iPad mini, which I can't see being a failure. Making the entry-level iPad notably cheaper is an incredibly wise move, and being able to do so without sacrificing quality, performance or profit margins is a sign of a healthy company.