iPad Mini上市场面相对冷清

Apple Inc. fans endured some lengthy lines to buy the iPad Mini when it went on sale Friday. But the scenes were calmer than for other recent Apple launches, raising the question of whether the new device can be a blockbuster product for the holidays.

iPad Mini上周五上市时，一些地方的苹果(Apple Inc.)粉丝排起了长长的队伍。但和苹果近段时间的其他新品上市相比，场面就没有那么火爆。这让人怀疑这款新设备能不能在假日购物季火爆畅销。

Demand was strong in storm-ravaged New York, where hundreds still gathered outside Apple's flagship Fifth Avenue store. But the initial crowd of 580 fell below the 750 that greeted the launch of the last version of the iPad this March, according to counts from Piper Jaffray.

风暴肆虐之后的纽约需求旺盛，仍有数百人聚集在第五大道苹果旗舰店门外。但据投资银行Piper Jaffray清点，最初排队人数只有580人，低于今年3月份上一款iPad上市时的750人。

Elsewhere in the U.S., lines were also shorter than recent launches. In Apple's backyard of San Francisco, lines at a downtown store were half to less than a third of the size they have been for other Apple gadgets.

在美国其他地方，排队人数也少于近段时期的新品上市。在苹果后院旧金山一家位于市中心的门店，排队人数就只有苹果其他产品上市时的一半至三分之一以下。

On his way to work, engineer Mike Boyer, 55 years old, noticed the line was less than a block long, so he jumped in. 'I was planning to stop by during lunch,' he said.

55岁的工程师迈克·博耶(Mike Boyer)在上班路上看到队伍不到一个街区长，于是也加入了队伍。他说：我原计划是在午休时间过来。

The iPad Mini, which measures 7.9 inches diagonally, is a test of whether Apple can shore up the lower end of the tablet market with a pricier product than rivals. The iPad Mini starts at $329, while rival products such as Google Inc.'s Nexus 7 and Amazon.com Inc.'s Kindle Fire start at $199 respectively. Those devices have a slightly smaller 7-inch screen.

7.9英寸的iPad Mini是对苹果的一个考验，看它能不能以高于竞争对手的价格在低端平板电脑市场发力。iPad Mini起价329美元，而竞争对手谷歌(Google Inc.)的Nexus 7、亚马逊(Amazon.com Inc.)的Kindle Fire起价分别都是199美元。后两款设备的屏幕尺寸为7英寸，比iPad Mini略校

Analysts have predicted Apple could sell more than a million iPad Minis this first weekend and several million for the quarter.

分析师曾预测iPad Mini首周末销量可能为100多万台，季度销量可能为几百万台。

The smaller iPad is part of the largest product push Apple has made ahead of a holiday season in recent history. On Friday, the Cupertino, Calif., company also started selling a slightly updated version of its full-sized iPad, which has a screen that measures 9.7 inches diagonally.

iPad Mini是苹果近期历史上在假日购物季前夕最大力度新品发布行动的一部分。上周五，总部位于加州库珀蒂诺的苹果公司还开始出售小幅更新的全尺寸iPad。该产品为9.7英寸。

The launches come as investors are newly cautious about Apple after driving up its stock to record highs in September. Apple shares fell 3.3% on Friday to $576.80.

这些产品上市正逢投资者对苹果股票变得谨慎起来。之前的9月份，投资者曾将苹果股价推至前所未有的高点。上周五苹果下跌3.3%，至576.80美元。

The calmer scenes over the iPad Mini were expected because the device is only part of Apple's overall iPad line-up and versions with cellular access don't go on sale until mid-November.

iPad Mini上市时相对平静的场景在人们预料之中，因为它只是苹果整个iPad产品线的一部分，而且拥有蜂窝网络接入功能的版本要到11月中旬才会上市。