JAPAN: Hundreds of Apple fans line-up for the launch of the iPad Mini in Tokyo hours and even days ahead of the release

Record ID: 466699

  • Title: JAPAN: Hundreds of Apple fans line-up for the launch of the iPad Mini in Tokyo hours and even days ahead of the release
  • Date: 2nd November 2012
  • Summary: TOKYO, JAPAN (NOVEMBER 2, 2012) (REUTERS) **CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY** MEDIA AND CUSTOMERS CROWDED OUTSIDE APPLE'S GINZA STORE APPLE LOGO STORE STAFF APPLAUDING AS CUSTOMERS WALK INTO SHOP STAFF GIVING HIGH-FIVE TO STAFF STAFF APPLAUDING MORE OF CUSTOMERS WALKING INTO STORE CAMERAMEN FILMING GIRLS CHEERING AFTER PURCHASING PAD MINI VARIOUS OF GIRLS POSING FOR CAMERAS (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) IPAD MINI CUSTOMER TEN EBIHARA SAYING: "Well, first of all it's so thin and light and very cute. So cute!" CAMERAMEN CROWDED IN FRONT OF STORE (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) 19-YEAR-OLD UNIVERSITY STUDENT KOUDAI TABUCHI SAYING: "It is very light and that makes me really happy. I was so excited that I couldn't sleep last night. Even though I was so cold I was unable to sleep." MORE OF CUSTOMERS WALKING INTO STORE VARIOUS OF CUSTOMERS LOOKING AT IPAD MINI INSIDE STORE IPAD MINI ON DISPLAY MAN LOOKING AT IPAD MINI (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) 39-YEAR-OLD ANDROID USER AND IT BUSINESSMAN TAISHI HASE SAYING: "I've been using an Android, but this is quite nice. It is very user-friendly." APPLE LOGO ON IPAD MINI MORE OF IPAD MINI ON DISPLAY
  • Embargoed: 17th November 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Japan
  • Country: Japan
  • Topics: Business,Communications,Technology
  • Reuters ID: LVABTJDM7PIL8FY1M5Z2H9W9V85W
  • Story Text: Hundreds of Apple enthusiasts lined up for the launch of the iPad Mini in Tokyo on Friday (November 2) hours and even days before as the consumer electronics company looks to sharpen its competitive edge in the global tablet market.
    On the day of opening sales in Japan, a line of over 100 early birds bundled up to wait outside on the brisk autumn morning in Tokyo's upscale shopping district of Ginza.
    Within an hour the number of Apple fans eager to get their hands on the petite tablet had doubled.
    At 8a.m. the Japan flagship shop began letting in groups of 20 with Apple staff welcoming the customers with cheers and high-fives.
    While some critics have have questioned the mini's high starting prices compared to competitors and whether that will be detrimental to overall global sales, Tokyo shoppers seemed to be less concerned with the cost and more excited about its cuteness and portability.

    "Well, first of all it's so thin and light and very cute. So cute!" iPad Mini customer Ten Ebihara said.
    Priced at 28, 800 JPY (359 USD), the Apple product is at least 100 USD more expensive than Amazon's Kindle Finer and Google's Nexus 7, both released at 199 USD.
    The 7. 9 inch weighs in at 308 grams (10.86 ounces), half the weight of the parent tablet and is barely hand-held
    "It is very light and that makes me really happy. I was so excited that I couldn't sleep last night. Even though I was so cold I was unable to sleep," an excited 19-year-old university student Koudai Tabuchi told Reuters.
    Apple Inc's iPad mini uses a display from South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, one of Apple's major suppliers and also its fiercest rival in the global mobile-device market that the two companies dominate.
    For 39-year-old Android user and businessman Taishi Hase, the iPad mini's user-friendly interface may tempt him to switch over.

    "I've been using an Android, but this is quite nice. It is very user-friendly," Hase said as he browsed the company's latest product inside the store.
    The lightweight iPad mini marks the Apple's first foray into the smaller-tablet segment.
    The company hopes to beat back incursions into its home territory - carved out with the original iPad's launch in 2010 - with 7-inch slates that are popular with consumers, even as it safeguards its lead in a larger tablet space that even deep-pocketed rivals like Samsung have found tough to penetrate.
    The iPad mini has won mostly positive reviews for its ability to wrap most of the functions of its full-sized iPad sibling into a smaller package.
    However with sales numbers yet to be released by Apple it remains to be seen how much customer demand exists for the gadget.
    Today's iPad mini release is a Wi-fi only version available in 16GB, 32GB and 64 GB models, a Wi-Fi + cellular data version will be released through Japanese local carriers in late November.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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