iPad mini sold out in most Singapore stores after launch

SINGAPORE: The iPad mini was sold out in most stores, less than three hours after it was launched in Singapore.

The long wait ended at 8.30am, when stores opened.

Some customers had queued as early as 8pm on Thursday.

By 11am, the first batch of iPad mini had already run out in most of Singapore’s Apple distributors.

The iPad mini has caused quite a bit of stir, but probably not as much as when the iPhone 5 was launched. And once again, there were customers flying in from overseas.

Harry Soeria, an Indonesian tourist, said: "I came from Indonesia specifically just to get the iPad mini. This is what I need. I think the size fits me better, I can take it everywhere I wanna go. This would be the last thing I touch before I go to bed and the first thing I touch when I wake up."

Foo Ghim Beng, a real estate agent, said: "Initially, I wanted to buy one for myself and one for my girlfriend, but I was only allowed to buy one. Now I guess I can only buy for my girlfriend. It’s an advanced birthday present."

Terence Tan, a sales executive, said: "I’m a 100 per cent Apple fan. I own the iPhone and MacBook Air already and this is my second time queuing up for an Apple product. I want to get the iPad mini because it’s quite handy and more convenient to carry around."

The new iPad mini behaves just like the iPad, but is smaller and is half its weight — representing Apple’s move to compete in the small tablet market with strong players like Google, Samsung and Amazon.

So far, Singapore is the only country in Southeast Asia to stock the product.

But only the Wi—Fi version is available at the moment. The model with 3G capabilities will be out by end—November.

And telcos say they will only be offering data plans in the coming weeks.

— CNA/de