Apple Inc. (AAPL): 16GB iPad Mini is Top Choice, Survey Says

Apple Inc . (NASDAQ:AAPL) launched its new iPad Mini this past weekend, and it appears that the entry-level model was the one that sold the best – to the point that the majority of retail stores had run out of the 16-gigabyte model that has a retail price of $329 – about $130 more than the entry level Nexus 7 from Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) and Kindle Fire by Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN).

Topeka Capital Markets, one of the top firms tracking all things Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), took a survey of retail stores to gauge the business in terms of iPad Mini sales. And in the results of the survey, Topeka found that 60 percent of all U.S. retail stores ran out of iPad Mini devices, and specifically every retail store ran out of the 16GB model. Also, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) retail stores saw 90 percent of the 32GB models in black and slate were sold, while 76 percent of white and silver models were off the shelves.

Of the Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) retailers that had inventory left (about 40 percent), less than 15 percent had sold out of any of the high-end 64GB models, with 14 percent selling out of the 64 in black and slate, with 10 percent sold out of white and silver. And Topeka analyst Brian White noted in the exit survey that nearly half of those who bought an iPad Mini had never owned a tablet computer before, which he says indicates that the device may be a good opportunity for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) to reach out to a new market of customers. This survey, however, does not indicate numbers of iPad Minis that were sold, nor how many remained in stock as of Sunday night.

With a report that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) made $423 million in profit on its iPad mini sales over the weekend, that may  signal decent if not strong numbers for the company as well as for investors in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) stock, like billionaire fund manager David Einhorn of Greenlight Capital.