Crowds showed up at Apple Stores around the country for the iPad mini, but not in the numbers they had for other recent iPad and iPhone launches. Blame it on product fatigue--the iPad mini and the fourth-generation iPad arrived on retail shelves a little less than eight months after . Or, if you're on the east coast, blame it on Hurricane Sandy, which hit the northeast hard earlier this week. With millions still without power, particularly in New Jersey and New York, lining up to purchase a new iPad wasn't high on a lot of people's priority lists. (Indeed, two Apple Stores in Lower Manhattan remained closed Friday as a result of Sandy.)

In Philadelphia, for example, there was nowhere near the hundreds-deep line that greeted previous iPad launches at the Walnut Street Apple Store. Instead, about two dozen people huddled near the store's entrance an hour before opening, with half of those there early to buy iPhones. The overall line grew slightly as the 8 a.m. opening drew closer. In another sign of the muted launch, Apple Store employees skipped traditional festivities like running down the long line of customers and offering high fives.

Still, the customers who did show up in Philadelphia were enthusiastic about the latest iPads. Jennifer Bornstein, who works at a Philadelphia museum, was in line to upgrade from her first-generation iPad to a new mini. The original iPad "was too big for me, too heavy," she said. "I've waited for this for many years."

Drexel University student Scott Wertz was also in line, looking to buy a mini; it would be his first individual iPad purchase, though his family had owned other versions of Apple's tablet. He lauded "the convenience factor of being able to use it in one hand and being able to maybe slip it in your jacket pocket, rather than using it like a laptop. Not needing a bag, but putting it in my pocket, is a huge draw for me."

Marcello Picchi was taking advantage of a visit to Philadelphia from his native Brazil to buy "as many iPad minis as I can buy. It's just a gift for everyone in my family, an early Christmas gift." The iPad mini went on sale in 34 countries--but not Brazil--on Friday.