Tablets

Apple ran out of iPad minis -- all models -- in three days

No word yet from the company about how many were pre-ordered

FORTUNE -- Pre-orders for the iPad mini began at Apple's (AAPL) online store Friday at 3 a.m. Eastern (12 a.m. Pacific). They went quickly -- although not as quickly as the iPhone 5.

In 20 minutes the Wi-Fi-only white models sold out in all three memory configurations (16GB, 32GB, 64GB)
In 35 hours the black 16GB models were gone
By 11 p.m. Sunday -- MORE

Did the rise of China's currency screw Apple's Q4 earnings?

If it weren't for the yuan, Apple might have beaten the Street's expectations

FORTUNE -- Ever since Thursday, when Apple (AAPL) confounded Wall Street's consensus by beating on revenue ($36 billion vs. $35.8 billion) and missing on earnings ($8.67 vs. $8.75), analysts have been scratching their heads trying to understand what happened.

Most analysts focused on the shortfall of iPad sales -- an explanation that loses some of its persuasive punch when MORE

Apple ran out of 16GB black iPad minis in 35 hours

The 32GB and 64GB configurations are still available for Nov. 2 delivery

FORTUNE -- It took only 20 minutes for pre-orders of the white iPad mini to exhaust Apple's (AAPL) supplies.

Black iPad minis, however, were available for the next day and a half.

But sometime before Saturday at 2 p.m. Eastern -- 35 hours after the devices became available for pre-order -- shipping times on the black 16GB iPad mini got pushed from MORE

Did iPad unit sales grow by 26% or 44% last quarter?

It's the difference between missing and beating Wall Street's expectations

FORTUNE -- Analysts were disappointed twice this week by Apple's (AAPL) iPad sales numbers.

The first time was on Tuesday when CEO Tim Cook announced that Apple sold its 100 millionth iPad on Oct. 9 -- only 15.88 million more than its cumulative sales through the June (Q3) quarter. Over the next two days, analysts scrambled to lower their Q4 iPad sales MORE

Apple's hit-and-miss report: What analysts are saying (u)

Most see a silver lining, despite disappointing Q4's earnings and troubling Q1 guidance

FORTUNE -- The earnings report Apple (AAPL) issued Thursday evening was complicated one, and analysts on Friday -- like voters in the U.S. Presidential election -- were trying to thread the needle between hope and disappointment.

Excerpts from their notes to clients:

UPDATE: Another wave arrived Friday afternoon. New ones on top.

Sterne Agee's Shaw Wu: Rare EPS Miss But Would MORE

Apple's Q4: Michael Walkley called it; the indies miss again

For the third time in five quarters, the professional analysts outgunned the amateurs

FORTUNE -- It was a great story while it lasted.

For nearly three years the professional sell-side analysts who cover Apple (AAPL) for the big banks and brokerage houses got clobbered every quarter by a motley group of amateurs -- bloggers, day traders and individual investors who bet on Apple to beat the Street's consensus and hadn't been wrong MORE

Apple's white iPad mini sells out in 20 minutes

Seven hours later, the black model was still listed as shipping Nov. 2

FORTUNE -- Looks like the iPad mini may be subject to the same supply constraints that held down sales of the iPhone 5 last quarter.

Pre-orders began at 12 a.m. Pacific (3 a.m. Eastern), and within 20 minutes readers were e-mailing to say that the white model was listed as "Available to ship: 2 weeks."

As of 5 a.m. Eastern, MORE

Apple Q4 earnings beat guidance, miss the Street's lowered expectations

Reports $36 billion in revenue, $8.2 billion profit and $8.67 earnings per share

FORTUNE -- Apple's (AAPL) reported mixed results Thursday. Although its sales of nearly $36 billion beat both its guidance and Wall Street's estimates, its earnings came up slightly short.

At $8.67 per share, they were higher than the company's usual conservative guidance of $7.05. But they were less than the $8.75 Wall Street was expecting -- and that number had MORE

Analysts cautious ahead of Apple's earnings release

Lowered expectations after Tim Cook's Tuesday bombshell

FORTUNE -- On Monday, Wall Street's consensus for Apple's (AAPL) fourth quarter report -- scheduled to be released today after the markets close -- was for earnings of $8.85 on sales of $36.32 billion.

By Thursday, according to Thomson Financial, those numbers had dropped to $8.75 and $35.8 billion. And among some of the analysts who revised their estimates this week, expectations were even lower.

What MORE

Apple analysts scramble to lower their Q4 iPad estimates

100 million may sound like a lot of iPads, but it was a few million less than expected

FORTUNE -- "Today I'm thrilled to tell you," CEO Tim Cook proclaimed about half-way through Apple's (AAPL) iPad mini special event Tuesday, "that two weeks ago we sold our 100 millionth iPad."

The analysts who were paying attention were not so thrilled. According to Apple's SEC filings, the company sold a total of 84.12 MORE