An Apple Premium Reseller in Russia, re:Store has announced that Apple’s iPad mini tablet will go on sale in the country on December 14, a week earlier than it was rumored in local media.
Apple has apparently decided to carpet bomb Russian customers with its new products in December, starting with iTunes Store, launched in the country on December 3, and finishing with iPhone 5 and iPad mini.
Both gadgets go on sale the same day, December 14, but at different times: re:Store earlier announced that iPhone 5 sales will kick off at midnight, while the iPad mini will go on sale much later, at 18:00. Several weeks earlier, local news agency RIA Novosti reported that the iPad mini will only go on sale on December 21, citing unnamed sources in retail.
Starting from Friday, customers in Russia will be able to buy Wi-Fi only models of iPad mini, as ones with cellular capabilities are promised to arrive later. The prices range from 14,990 rubles ($488) for the 16 GB model to 22,990 rubles ($748) for the 64 GB one.
There are rumors circulating in local media that not enough iPads have been shipped to Russia to satisfy the demand, which was indirectly confirmed by re:Store. In its announcement, the company states that “the first shipment of iPad mini is limited in quantity.”
Image credit: Oli Scarff / Getty Images.
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