LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic online) - Apple CEO Tim Cook noted that iPad minis were "practically sold out." It must be noted that while Apple did not break out sales figures for the different variations of its tablet, at Apple's flagship store on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, the white iPad mini sold out in just an hour. The black versions sold out in two hours.

"We're working hard to build more quickly to meet the incredible demand," Cook says.

Apple has recently been plagued with supply constraints for its new devices lately. It came as no surprise that demand far outstripped supply. 

Topeka Capital Markets analyst Brian White says that checks with Asian suppliers revealed that it would be a while before Apple could deliver all the iPad mini tablets that customers want, thanks to the complexity of certain components that go into the eight-inch tablet.

Wi-Fi only versions of the tablet remain the only ones still on sale yet. Apple said the 4G versions of both the iPad mini and the new fourth-generation iPad will ship "in a few weeks" in the U.S.

The iPad mini, which starts at $329, is one-third smaller overall than its 10-inch cousin and weighs less than a pound. It's also 23 percent thinner than the full-sized iPad.

A slightly updated fourth-generation traditional iPad will be offered to the public this coming Friday, which features a new, twice-as-fast processor and U.S. 4G-LTE coverage.

According to IDC the iPad commanded roughly half the tablet market in the third quarter. That's more than double the market share of Samsung, its next-closest competitor, but Samsung, Amazon and Asus have come on strong over the past several months. Over the past year, they've eaten away about 10 percentage points of Apple's tablet share.

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