The iPad Mini costs a bit more than competing tablets of a similar size, but its initial sales appear strong. Apple said on Monday that it sold three million new iPads in the first weekend that the smaller iPad and the fourth-generation iPad went on sale. That matches the number of third-generation iPads that Apple sold after that tablet's first weekend on sale in March.
Apple didn't disclose sales of the iPad Mini separately, but Tim Cook, Apple's chief executive, said the company almost sold out of the smaller tablet.
“Customers around the world love the new iPad Mini and fourth generation iPad,†Mr. Cook said in a statement. “We set a new launch weekend record and practically sold out of iPad Minis. We're working hard to build more quickly to meet the incredible demand.â€
In Monday's statement, Apple noted that last weekend's new iPad sales were double the number of Wi-Fi-only third-generation iPads sold on its first weekend in March. That's al most a fair comparison because Apple has yet to release the iPad Mini and fourth-generation iPad with a cellular data connection. But this time it's comparing the combined sales of two different types of iPads with sales of one iPad.
Natalie Kerris, an Apple spokeswoman, declined to specify how many of each iPad was sold because the company typically does not break out sales of specific models in one product line - for instance, it doesn't say how many iPod Touch devices and iPod Nanos it sold when it discusses sales for the iPod product line.
Before the iPad Mini and fourth-generation iPad went on sale Friday, Wall Street analysts paid close attention to the iPad Mini, a brand-new size in Apple's family of touch-screen devices. Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray predicted that Apple would sell 1.5 million iPad Minis.
After Apple introduced the iPad Mini, Shaw Wu, an analyst with Sterne Agee, said some investors were disappointed by the iPad Mini's $330 starting price, as some had hoped it would be closer to the prices of Google's and Amazon's tablets, which cost around $200. But Mr. Wu noted that in general, Apple does not try to drive its products down to the lowest price at the risk of sacrificing quality.
