Posted in: Mobile phones

iPad mini launches today, Apple eyeing 1.5 million units sold over the weekend

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Despite being a couple of weeks behind schedule, the iPad mini sales open today, but only in the US and only in black.

Never mind the delay, Apple is expected to sell around 1.5 million units of its 7.85″ slate. Gene Munster at Piper Jaffray has made the projection and he believes Apple will hit that number before the weekend’s over.

Spectacular as this sounds, it’s actually not as much as the third gen iPad managed to sell at launch, rounding off 3 million units. The main reason for that, Mr. Munster believes, is the lack of 4G LTE models available at launch.

He also accounts for the fact that the compact size is still a relatively new concept for the general consumer and that:

Consumers will gradually realize the benefits of the smaller form factor, which will drive adoption, although it may not take form in lines for tomorrow’s launch.

The base iPad mini costs $329, with the 32GB and 64GB version going for $429 and $529, respectively. The Wi-Fi+Cellular model starts at $459 for the 16GB.

You can see how the iPad mini compares to the hottest Android competitors by checking out our iPad mini vs Nexus 7 vs Kindle Fire HD comparison table.

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