Apple Inc. moved to cement its dominance in tablet computing with a smaller version of its popular iPad device. But while the new iPad mini unveiled Tuesday carried the company’s signature technical sophistication and elegant design, at a starting price of $329 it is more expensive than similar products from Google Inc., Amazon.com, and Barnes & Noble Inc.

“If they could have gotten it below $300, they would have broadened the market even more,” said Sarah Rotman Epps, senior analyst at Forrester Research in San Francisco.