Apple iPad mini is beating the iPad 4 in sales, according to a report. This continues a shopping trend that kicked off when both devices were released in November. Meanwhile, analysts are saying there is no way Apple would announce an iPad mini 2 release date considering the demand for mini has not seen a significant drop just yet.

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In a report by NDP DisplaySearch, demand for iPad Mini is greater than demand for its 9.7-inch sibling. The report mentions that Apple may have originally planned to ship and sell 60 million full-sized iPad 4 and 40 million iPad minis. However, the report noted, the figures are likely to be reversed.

Here are 5 of the reasons why more people are choosing the iPad mini over the iPad 4th generation.

1. Price. Apple iPad mini (16 GB, WiFi only) costs $369. The 16 GB variant with 4G connectivity costs $509. In contrast, iPad 4 (16 GB, WiFi only) costs $549. It's $689 for the 16GB with 4G ability. The differentiators include screen size, display technology and processor-memory combination, among others. Light tablet users could afford to choose a relatively slower device and sacrifice the crisper display for nearly $200 savings.

2. Portability. The smaller and lighter iPad mini is easier to carry around than its bigger sibling. When it's time to catch up on some reading or other media consumption, the mini does not put as much strain to the wrist as the bigger tablet.

3. Supporting device. Many iPad mini buyers already have older, full-sized Apple tablets. But they got a mini for some specific use, such as reading eBooks or note-taking at meetings. They wanted to take advantage of the mini's lightness, but they still have other uses for their big tablets.

4. New eBook reader. Some eBook readers have shifted to the newer iPad mini from their old Kindle or other reading device. And then some of them wound up discovering that they don't need other devices for web browsing and other tablet uses.

5. Novelty. The big iPad has been around for a couple of years. The iPad 4 as an upgrade is less attractive than the all-new entry, iPad mini 2. Some early adopters of the mini wanted to be the first ones to explore Apple's new product.

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