Blame it on the preorders? iPad mini fans lined up worldwide to get their hand (you know, because it's so small…?) on Apple's latest tablet, but compared to other product launches, lines were smaller this time around.

Reuters is reporting that the iPad mini once again brought out throngs of eager buyers at Apple retail stores around the world, some who stood in line four hours to be among the first to buy.

But compared to the September launch of the iPhone 5, the so-called crowds were a bit thin in many countries such as Australia, where only 50 people lined up outside an Apple Store in Sydney on Friday morning.

That pales in comparison to recent iPhone launches, which have seen the line "stretched for several blocks" at that location.

Apple Stores in Tokyo and Seoul fared better, with lines of 100 or more eager customers, but retail staff at the Hong Kong store "appeared to outnumber those waiting in line," the report noted.

Starting at $329, the iPad mini is expected to sell between one and 1.5 million units in its first weekend -- roughly half that of the third-generation iPad's launch back in March.

"The reason we expect fewer iPad minis compared to the 3rd Gen is because of the lack of the wireless option and newness of the smaller form factor for consumers," Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster explained in a note to investors. "We believe that over time that will change."

Wi-Fi + Cellular models are expected to land in mid-November, with Wi-Fi only models of the iPad mini backordered in Apple's online store for up to two weeks.

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(Image courtesy of Reuters)