Apple iPad mini makes low key debut in Asia

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.