Amazon is moving quickly to defend its turf in the 7-inch tablet market after Apple's highly anticipated unveiling of the iPad mini last week.

In a not-too-subtle act of retaliation against Apple's new 7.9-inch tablet, Amazon has updated its homepage with a side-by-side comparison of Apple's product with its own Kindle Fire HD, claiming the latter offers better technical specs for a better price.

Amazon takes aim, specifically, at the new iPad mini's display, claiming its Kindle Fire HD offers 30 percent more pixels, or 53 more pixels per inch. The Internet search giant also suggests its Kindle Fire HD offers a richer experience when viewing HD movies and TV, and calls attention to its tablet having two stereo speakers vs. the iPad mini's just one.

[Related: Head-To-Head: iPad Mini Vs. Amazon Kindle Fire HD Vs. Google Nexus 7]

Amazon overall claims its 7-inch Kindle Fire HD offers "much more for much less," with a starting price of $199 compared to the iPad mini's $329.

Apple's price point for the new iPad mini is higher than what most Apple followers had projected, which had generally been figures around $250. But Apple, according to what Vice President of Worldwide Marketing Phil Schiller recently told Reuters, believes the $329 starting price is right on target; consumers will be willing to pay more, Schiller said, because the iPad mini offers more robust functionality than competing 7-inch tablets.

"The iPad is far and away the most successful product in its category. The most affordable product we've made so far was $399 and people were choosing that over those other devices," Schiller said, according to Reuters.

"And now you can get a device that's even more affordable at $329 in this great, new form, and I think a lot of customers are going to be very excited about that," he continued.

Apple did not immediately return a request for further comment.

NEXT: Analysts: New iPad mini Will Take 7-Inch Tablet By Storm

Analysts, despite this higher-than-expected price point, are still projecting the new iPad mini will take the 7-inch tablet by storm, threatening the success of both Amazon's Kindle Fire HD and Google's Nexus 7.

"At 308 grams and 7.2-mm thin, the 7.9-inch tablet is lighter and thinner than competing Android offerings, including the Kindle Fire HD and the Google Nexus 7," wrote TBR analyst Beau Skonieczny in a research note last week. "Despite a premium starting price of $329 and a relatively low screen resolution of 1,024 x 768, TBR believes the iPad mini will be met with strong consumer demand in the fourth quarter of this year, as Apple maintains the advantage of a more established app ecosystem and an easy-to-use, consumer-oriented operating system."

Fellow analyst firm IHS iSuppli also expects Apple to dominate in the quickly growing 7-inch tablet space, despite being a late-comer to the market.

"Just as Apple has dominated the market for 9.7-inch tablets with its iPad, iPad 2 and new iPad models, the company is poised to rule the market for 7.x-inch products, driving rapid growth of the segment in 2012 and 2013,” said Rhoda Alexander, director of tablet and monitor research for HIS, in a research note. “The battle in the 7-inch space is highly spirited, with most of the other leading vendors already offering price-competitive products in this size range. IHS predicts Apple will successfully position the smaller iPad as a device that will be attractive and easy to adopt for both new and returning customers."

The new iPad mini comes in both Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi plus cellular models and is now available for pre-order.

PUBLISHED OCT. 29, 2012