AppleInsider Staff
Apple on Friday started sales of its iPad mini Wi-Fi + Cellular in China, keeping to the company's planned rollout in the country announced earlier this week.
With the device's rollout, China now has access to Apple's complete lineup of cellular-enabled mobile devices which include the latest iPhone 5 and fourth-generation iPad. Apple announced on Monday that Chinese customers would be able to purchase the cell data network-connected iPad mini on Friday local China time.
China is widely viewed as a key player in Apple's growth over the coming years, especially in regard to handsets and tablets. The country's number one carrier China Mobile is also the world's largest wireless provider by subscribership, but Apple has yet to strike a partnership deal with telecom. Currently, the Cupertino, Calif., company has two partner carriers in the region with China Telecom and China Unicom, both of which provide service for the iPhone and cellular-enabled iPads.
It remains to be seen how strong demand will be for the wireless iPad mini in China, but the Wi-Fi version's launch in December was relatively quiet compared to previous device launches mostly due to the institution of a reservation-only purchasing system.
Prices for the wireless iPad mini, dubbed iPad mini WLAN + Cellular, start at 3,488 yuan (about $560) for a 16GB model and top out at 5,088 yuan (about $820) for a 64GB version. The Chinese Apple Online Store is currently showing two-week wait times for all iPad mini models.
Charles Martin
Malcolm Owen
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41 Comments
I had some shopping to do recently, and I thought I'd take a little detour and drop in to my local Apple Store to check out what all the iPad Mini fuss was about. Aside from the fact that the store was RAMMED to capacity, the Minis were getting a lot of attention.
I tried out the the black one for a while. This device feels and looks incredible. It is SWEET. It's light, the screen looks great, and it's basically everything iPad in a fantastic, well-built form factor. I must say I'm not surprised that the Minis are getting such play. I think that once the full-sized iPad gets thinner and lighter, iPad Mini/full iPad interest will be a little more at parity. Apple seems to be doing to the iPad family what thdy did to the iPod family. The strategy will pay off handsomely.
The trend toward lighter/thinner is definitely in full force at Apple. And I can see why. As with the Mini, no iPhone has felt better and more comfortable in my hands than the iPhone 5. It's LIGHT, thin, beautifully designed and just a joy to use.
[quote name="Quadra 610" url="/t/155533/apple-kicks-off-sales-of-cellular-enabled-ipad-mini-in-china#post_2261106"]I had some shopping to do recently, and I thought I'd take a little detour and drop in to my local Apple Store to check out what all the iPad Mini fuss was about. Aside from the fact that the store was RAMMED to capacity, the Minis were getting a lot of attention. I tried out the the black one for a while. This device feels and looks incredible. It is SWEET. It's light, the screen looks great, and it's basically everything iPad in a fantastic, well-built form factor. I must say I'm not surprised that the Minis are getting such play. I think that once the full-sized iPad gets thinner and lighter, iPad Mini/full iPad interest will be a little more at parity. Apple seems to be doing to the iPad family what thdy did to the iPod family. The strategy will pay off handsomely. The trend toward lighter/thinner is definitely in full force at Apple. And I can see why. As with the Mini, no iPhone has felt better and more comfortable in my hands than the iPhone 5. It's LIGHT, thin, beautifully designed and just a joy to use. [/quote] if you ever see a Nexus 7, Kindle Fire or some other 7" tablet next to the iPad mini you'd likely come to the conclusion that the iPad mini is well worth the cost. A much bigger display and better construction.
That's quite a price difference compared to the US (yes yes, ex tax) How come?
[quote name="PhilBoogie" url="/t/155533/apple-kicks-off-sales-of-cellular-enabled-ipad-mini-in-china#post_2261116"]That's quite a price difference compared to the US (yes yes, ex tax) How come?[/quote] Import tariffs typically seem the biggest reason for a price disparately.
A lot of the manufacturing and assembling take place there. So if its pretty much made there, I am not sure how the import tariff would work