Apple iPad mini makes low key debut in Asia
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Customers Mr Kazuki Miura, (left), Ms Mio Kawai, (bottom), Mr Hisanori Kogure, (centre), and Mr Kota Suzuki show off Apple's iPad Mini after they bought at a store in Tokyo on Friday, Nov 2, 2012. -- PHOTO: AP
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People hold mock models of Apple's new iPad mini (second right, and left) as they wait for the release of the tablet in front of the Apple Store Ginza in Tokyo on Nov 1, 2012. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
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People wait for the release of Apple's new iPad mini in front of the Apple Store Ginza in Tokyo on Nov 1, 2012. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
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An Apple fan walks past people waiting for the release of Apple's new iPad mini in front of the Apple Store Ginza in Tokyo on Nov 2, 2012. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
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Fans waits for the release of Apple's new iPad mini in front of the Apple Store Ginza in Tokyo on Nov 2, 2012. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
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People try out the new iPad minis at Apple Store Ginza in Tokyo on Nov 2, 2012. The 7.9-inch iPad mini marks the iPhone-maker's first foray into the smaller-tablet segment. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
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Customers try out the newly launched 7-inch sized tablet "iPad mini" at an Apple store in Tokyo on Nov 2, -- PHOTO: AFP
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A customer holds up an apple after he purchased Apple's new 7-inch sized "iPad mini" tablet (right) at an Apple store in Tokyo on Nov 2, 2012. -- PHOTO: AFP
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Customers show their newly purchased 7-inch sized "iPad mini" tablet at an Apple store in Tokyo on Nov 2, 2012. -- PHOTO: AFP
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Apple employees share high-fives with customers who has been waiting in line to purchase the new iPad minis at Apple Store Ginza in Tokyo on Nov 2, 2012. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
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A customer, right, celebrates as an Apple store started selling iPad Mini in Tokyo on Friday morning, Nov 2, 2012. -- PHOTO: AP
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Customers Kota Suzuki, (left), and Mio Kawai wait in line to buy Apple's iPad Mini at a store in Tokyo on Friday morning, Nov 2, 2012. -- PHOTO: AP
Customers Mr Kazuki Miura, (left), Ms Mio Kawai, (bottom), Mr Hisanori Kogure, (centre), and Mr Kota Suzuki show off Apple's iPad Mini after they bought at a store in Tokyo on Friday, Nov 2, 2012. -- PHOTO: AP
People hold mock models of Apple's new iPad mini (second right, and left) as they wait for the release of the tablet in front of the Apple Store Ginza in Tokyo on Nov 1, 2012. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
People wait for the release of Apple's new iPad mini in front of the Apple Store Ginza in Tokyo on Nov 1, 2012. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
An Apple fan walks past people waiting for the release of Apple's new iPad mini in front of the Apple Store Ginza in Tokyo on Nov 2, 2012. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
Fans waits for the release of Apple's new iPad mini in front of the Apple Store Ginza in Tokyo on Nov 2, 2012. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
People try out the new iPad minis at Apple Store Ginza in Tokyo on Nov 2, 2012. The 7.9-inch iPad mini marks the iPhone-maker's first foray into the smaller-tablet segment. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
Customers try out the newly launched 7-inch sized tablet "iPad mini" at an Apple store in Tokyo on Nov 2, -- PHOTO: AFP
A customer holds up an apple after he purchased Apple's new 7-inch sized "iPad mini" tablet (right) at an Apple store in Tokyo on Nov 2, 2012. -- PHOTO: AFP
Customers show their newly purchased 7-inch sized "iPad mini" tablet at an Apple store in Tokyo on Nov 2, 2012. -- PHOTO: AFP
Apple employees share high-fives with customers who has been waiting in line to purchase the new iPad minis at Apple Store Ginza in Tokyo on Nov 2, 2012. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
A customer, right, celebrates as an Apple store started selling iPad Mini in Tokyo on Friday morning, Nov 2, 2012. -- PHOTO: AP
Customers Kota Suzuki, (left), and Mio Kawai wait in line to buy Apple's iPad Mini at a store in Tokyo on Friday morning, Nov 2, 2012. -- PHOTO: AP
TOKYO (AFP) - The iPad mini made its low-key debut on Friday when sales began in Asia, as Apple hurled the latest salvo in its battle against rivals Amazon, Google and Samsung.
Around 300 people queued up outside Apple's flagship store in Tokyo, some wearing fancy dress, to get their hands on a device the company insists is more than just a shrunken version of its popular tablet.
At least 20 people spent the night outside the shop in the upmarket Ginza area, but the launch was missing some of the pizazz of earlier offerings, with the queue quickly dissipating after an initial rush.
In tech-mad Singapore numbers were well down on previous launches while in Hong Kong, around 30 people queued to pick up their pre-ordered devices before the Apple store opened, in contrast to the hundreds who lined up for the iPad 2 last year and the 1,500 who camped out for the iPhone 4S.
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