Apple fans lined up in several Asian cities to get their hands on the iPad mini on Friday, but the device, priced above rival gadgets from Google and Amazon.com, attracted smaller crowds than at the company?s previous global rollouts.
Apple Inc?s global gadget rollouts are typically high-energy affairs drawing droves of buyers who stand in line for hours. But a proliferation of comparable rival devices may have sapped some interest. About 50 people waited for the Apple store in Sydney to open, where in the past the line had stretched for several blocks when the company debuted new iPhones.
At the head of Friday?s line was Patrick Li, who had been waiting since 4:30 am and was keen to get his hands on the 7.9-inch slate. ?It?s light, easy to handle, and I?ll use it to read books. It?s better than the original iPad,? Li said.
The iPad mini marks Apple?s foray into the smaller-tablet segment, and the latest salvo in a global mobile-device war that has engulfed combatants from Google Inc to Amazon.com and software giant Microsoft Corp.
Unveiled last week, the iPad mini has won mostly positive reviews, with criticism centring on a screen considered inferior to rivals? and a lofty price tag. The new tablet essentially replicates most of the features of its full-sized sibling, but in a smaller package. At $329 for a Wi-Fi only model, the iPad mini is a little costlier than predicted but some analysts see that as Apple’s attempt to retain premium positioning. Some investors fear the gadget will lure buyers away from Apple?s $499 flagship 9.7-inch iPad, while proving ineffective in combating the threat of Amazon?s $199 Kindle Fire and Google?s Nexus 7, both of which are sold at or near cost.
Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics said Friday it has sold more than 3 million Galaxy Note II smartphones in a little over a month after its launch. Samsung said it took 37 days for the oversize smartphone to reach the sales figure.
