iPad Mini Sells Out in Two Hours at Apple's Flagship Fifth Avenue Retail Store

ipad mini handWhile reports have indicated that launch-day lines for the iPad mini and fourth-generation iPad have been shorter than seen for many previous Apple product launches, some Apple retail stores are still seeing long lines. Fortune notes that despite the impact of Hurricane Sandy in the northeastern United States, Apple's flagship Fifth Avenue store in Manhattan saw over 800 people in line as the store opened at 10:00 AM, two hours later than originally planned.

According to the records Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster has been keeping since 2008 (see below), that's more customers than turned out for the iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4S.

And by 9:56 a.m. -- four minutes before the doors finally opened -- I counted 801 men, women and children. Only the iPhone 4 (1,300) and iPad 2 (1,190) drew bigger crowds.

Topeka Capital Markets analyst Brian White is also at the Fifth Avenue store and has been monitoring availability of the various models. According to White, all three models of the white Wi-Fi iPad mini sold out in a little over an hour, with the black models following suit after about two hours. No additional shipments are expected at the store today.

We are at Apple's flagship Fifth Avenue store in New York City and our checks now indicate that all of the White & Silver iPad mini models sold out at around 11:15 AM. We estimate that the 16GB and 64GB were sold out by 10:30 AM ET and the 32GB sold out at around 11:15 AM ET. [...]

As of 11:40 AM ET, both the 16GB and 32GB Black & Slate iPad mini models were sold out at the Fifth Avenue NYC store; while we estimate the 64GB iPad mini sold out at around 12:10 PM ET.

A similar pattern was seen in online pre-orders, with the white models selling out in just 17 minutes and the black models taking a few days to run out of availability.

Related Roundup: iPad mini
Buyer's Guide: iPad Mini (Caution)
Related Forum: iPad

Top Rated Comments

klover Avatar
145 months ago
Won't sell well.
Overpriced.
Crappy screen.
No market niche.
Nexus 7 is better.
No Retina.
CPU is old.
RAM is weak.
Tim Cook's major failure.
Apple's greed is unrelenting.


:rolleyes:
Score: 40 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AppleInMyBlood Avatar
145 months ago
They're pulling corpses out of the water and these people are lining up to buy the latest gadget. I don't know what's more disgusting, the fact people in this area are buying or that Apple is selling.
You're not seriously suggesting retail stores should all shut down, are you? That would do wonders for the economy. :rolleyes:

But since you're so fond of being judgmental, how's this:

How dare you be spending your time reading MacRumours on a day when people are struggling against Superstorm Sandy?! Disgusting! You should be busy making donations, or on a flight to the East Coast to help out, or at the very least reading about the storm on a general news site! :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:
Score: 31 Votes (Like | Disagree)
klover Avatar
145 months ago
They're pulling corpses out of the water and these people are lining up to buy the latest gadget. I don't know what's more disgusting, the fact people in this area are buying or that Apple is selling.

You're right. In the wake of something terrible, nobody should do anything for themselves that makes them feel better or brightens their day.

They have dances during wars you know.
Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bbeagle Avatar
145 months ago
It's disgusting....I'm an Apple guy and to even care about this now with all that is happening in the Tri-State is gluttony.
OMG! Something is ALWAYS happening in the world. Get over yourself.

I have family living in New Jersey, even a cousin living in hard-hit Hoboken, NJ. They're fine. I can't go out there right now, I have to continue living my life. I'm not buying an iPad mini, but have no issue at all with people buying them.
Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)
NIKKG Avatar
145 months ago
How many in line were Asians buying them all up for resell?
Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Nungster Avatar
145 months ago
They're pulling corpses out of the water and these people are lining up to buy the latest gadget. I don't know what's more disgusting, the fact people in this area are buying or that Apple is selling.

I live here in Florida, and storms/hurricanes are no stranger to these parts. Storms come and go, people heed and people ignore warnings. Thus people end up dying. Death is a fact of life, and world moves on.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 17

iOS 17.2 Will Add These 12 New Features to Your iPhone

Friday December 1, 2023 12:19 pm PST by
iOS 17.2 has been in beta testing for over a month, and it should be released to all users in a few more weeks. The software update includes many new features and changes for iPhones, including the dozen that we have highlighted below. iOS 17.2 is expected to be released to the public in mid-December. To learn about even more features coming in the update, check out our full list. Journal ...
iOS 17

28 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in December's iOS 17.2 Update

Friday December 1, 2023 2:57 am PST by
Apple made the first beta of iOS 17.2 available to developers in October. Since then we've seen three more betas, and with each iteration Apple continues to add more new features and changes, many of which users have been anticipating for quite a while. Below, we've listed 28 new things that are coming to your iPhone when the finalized version is publicly released this December. 1. Help...
anker new xmas

Anker's Cyber Week Sale Enters Final Days With Up to 60% Off Sitewide

Friday December 1, 2023 12:05 pm PST by
Anker's Black Friday/Cyber Week event is entering its final days this weekend, and it's still offering up to 60 percent off sitewide. There are also a few "mystery boxes" that can include hundreds of dollars in savings, if you're willing to risk not knowing what you're buying ahead of time. All of these sales will end on December 3. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Anker. When you...
iOS 17

Apple Releases iOS 17.1.2 With Security Fixes

Thursday November 30, 2023 10:12 am PST by
Apple today released iOS 17.1.2 and iPadOS 17.1.2, small updates to the iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 operating systems that Apple introduced in September. iOS 17.1.2 and iPadOS 17.1.2 come a few weeks after the release of iOS 17.1.1, another bug fix update. iOS 17.1.2 and iPadOS 17.1.2 can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update....
iPhone 16 Mock Header Updated 1

iPhone 16 to Include Action Button Across Entire Lineup

Thursday November 30, 2023 4:08 pm PST by
The release of the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max saw the introduction of an entirely new user-configurable button known as the Action button, and now, MacRumors has seen extensive evidence confirming Apple is planning to include the Action button on the entire iPhone 16 range. Designs and plans for the Action button date back to at least 2021, as the button was intended for release alongside hapt...
paramount plus logo

Apple and Paramount Considering Discounted TV+ Streaming Bundle

Friday December 1, 2023 4:40 am PST by
Apple and Paramount have discussed bundling their TV streaming services at a discount, according to a new report by The Wall Street Journal. The companies have talked about offering a combination of Paramount+ and Apple TV+ that would cost less than subscribing to both services separately, according to people familiar with the discussions. The discussions are in their early stages, and it is ...
top stories 2dec2023

Top Stories: iOS 17.1.2 Released, NameDrop Misinformation, and More

Saturday December 2, 2023 6:00 am PST by
Apple employees are back to work following a Thanksgiving break, and that means this week saw a number of new operating system updates for both public release and beta testing. This week also saw some misinformation about Apple's new NameDrop feature making the rounds, while Apple and Goldman Sachs appear to be on the verge of a break-up in their Apple Card and savings account partnership,...
General Apps Messages

Green Bubbles on iPhone to Gain These 7 New Features Next Year

Thursday November 30, 2023 9:00 am PST by
Earlier this month, Apple announced that it will finally support RCS in the Messages app on the iPhone starting later next year. This change will result in several improvements to the messaging experience between iPhones and Android devices. RCS will become the new default standard for messaging between iPhones and Android devices, but these conversations will still have green bubbles like...