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Product differentiation is the name of the game in the current tech war. Will Apple be able to create a unique smaller tablet with its iPad Mini? Will a larger Nexus tablet allow Google to take the fight directly to the iPad? And how can struggling HTC stand out from among the throng of Android devices? Onswipe has all that and more right here with today’s best tech news.

Will the $299 iPod Touch Complicated Pricing for the iPad Mini?

Apple has found itself in a tricky situation when it comes to pricing the upcoming iPad Mini. Amazon, Google, and Barnes & Noble already own the market, with a price floor firmly set around $200, which brings us to Apple and the problem of the $299 5th generation iPod Touch. Quoted by Investor’s Business Daily, analyst Shaw Wu predicts that Apple will be hesitant to price their competing 7.85″ tablet at the same level as the iPod Touch. “It’s a low likelihood that they will price the Mini on par with the Touch or even at a discount. You can forget about a discount. So we’re probably looking at a price above $299.” Wu thinks the iPad Mini will clock in at $350 (Investors.com)

As Apple Goes Smaller With iPad Mini, Google Teams Up With Samsung For 10.1″ Tablet

CNET is reporting that Google is teaming up with Apple-nemesis Samsung to bring their Nexus tablet to the high end. The rumored device will boast a 10.1-inch screen and a 2,560×1,600 display, according to NPD analyst Richard Shim. That would give the device a pixel density of than Apple’s Retina display. Shim also confirmed a previous rumor that Google would be partnering with ASUS to release a $99 tablet by December. (CNET)

A Tablet With Built-In Projector is Match Made In Tech Heaven

How cool would a tablet with a built-in projector be? Can you imagine splashing a Netflix movie or a game of Angry Birds all over the office wall? Granted, the 7-inch SmartQ U7, which has a 40 lumen projector tucked into the side, doesn’t yet fulfill the potential for the meeting of these two technologies, but Gizomodo’s Adrian Covert thinks there’s great things in store in the future: “If the quality of the picture was good enough, an integrated projector is definitely something I’d want in a future tablet.” (Gizmodo)

Ericsson, Nokia, Motorola — Will HTC Join them as Casualties of the Smartphone War?

It seems more and more apparent that the smartphone market is being tugged between only two parties: Samsung and Apple. Adding to this argument is HTC’s Q3 numbers: The company reported an 80% drop in profits in the September quarter compared to the year ago quarter, which had been HTC’s most profitable quarter. Forbes’s Christopher Versace writes that HTC’s plight illustrates a wider challenge for smartphone manufactures who have adopted Google’s Android OS, namely that there are over a dozen other companies companies pushing Android smartphones. (Forbes)