With today's unannounced retail debut of the iPad mini with Retina display, a whole lot of Apple devotees and critics cried foul. A lot of people seemed confused, simply because an Apple tablet has never launched in such a way. Yes, it's strange for an iPad to launch without a parade in its honor, but it's not unusual for Apple products in general. As the iPad line continues to evolve from a set of devices that must constantly validate its own existence to a core part of Apple's long-term strategy, release practices will fall in line with that of the company's other offerings.
In short, while today's quiet launch may be due in part to low stoc
