Apple's iPod Mini Makes Robust Debut in Japan

Some 1,500 customers made a long line before the 10 a.m. opening of Apple's retail shop in Tokyo's Ginza district.

The first person in the line arrived there 8:30 p.m. Friday and stayed overnight.

iPod mini, priced at 26,800 yen in Japan, is about the size of a name card and weighs only 103 grams.

Some models of the iPod series are capable of storing some 10,000 pieces of music.

Besides Apple's Ginza shop, iPod mini is available in Japan at consumer electronics stores and via Apple's Website on the Internet.

Competition is intensifying in the market for portable music players equipped with hard disk drives, into which Sony (NYSE: SNE) and Toshiba recently made inroads.