Today is the day that the highly anticipated iPad Mini launches in stores. Customers lined up in front of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) stores throughout Europe and Asia, but this time, the excitement wasn’t as nearly as big as it was for previous gadgets.
According to Reuters, there were fifty people waiting in line in Sydney, and a little more than a hundred waiting in line in Tokyo. These numbers are significantly lower than what Reuters has seen before. The reason for such shorter numbers may have to do with the fact that most of the interested buyers already pre-ordered their device (earlier this week, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) sold out of all their iPad Minis during the pre-order). This, however, doesn’t answer the question of why there was little excitement over the gadget’s arrival in stores.
Despite the poor turnout on Friday, the iPad Mini has received many positive reviews. One customer in Tokyo, Ten Ebihara, said “Well, first of all it’s so thin and light and very cute – so cute!”
Sydney’s Patrick Li said, “It’s light, easy to handle, and I’ll use it to read books. It’s better than the original iPad.”
The new Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s iPad Mini is an impressive little device that measures 7.9 inches and features a display that measures 1,024 by 768, dual-core A5 processor, FaceTime HD, and a 5 megapixel iSight camera. The smaller iPad starts at $329 for the Wi-Fi version and $459 for Wi-Fi/cellular combos.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) today, officially launched iPad Mini in stores throughout thirty-four countries, including Australia, Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s iPad Mini was designed specifically to create competition against lower-priced Android tablets, like the Kindle Fire HD and Barnes & Noble’s Nook. Unfortunately, some investors think the iPad Mini might take interest away from the ten-inch iPads. However, if today’s short lines are indicative of anything, they might not have too much to worry about.
