Apple's iPad Mini hits stores

• Smaller tablet device available in U.S., 33 other countries
• Lines reportedly shorter compared to previous Apple launches
• Fourth-generation iPad with faster processing chip also debuts

The iPad Mini, the smaller rendition of Apple's popular tablet, is now available in stores, although it appears crowds are much smaller compared to other high-profile gadget launches.

The device launched in the U.S. and 33 other countries today, starting at $329. The iPad Mini available now only features Wi-Fi, with models supporting 4G wireless networks arriving later this month.

As Reuters and Techcrunch report, Apple fans lined up at stores worldwide to scoop up their iPad Mini. However, it seems lines were shorter than the average Apple launch, including the most recent iPhone 5 in September.

Reuters notes "about 50 people" waited to grab an iPad Mini from one Apple store in Australia, while stores in Europe and Asia hosted as many as 100.

Techcrunch found similar accounts, based on Twitter updates in Maryland, Ohio, Florida and Buffalo, N.Y. Not all stores were quiet though. Business Insider reporter Kevin Smith says the Apple store in downtown New York City -- which continues to recover from the impact of Hurricane Sandy -- boasts a line that "wrapped from 5th Avenue in Manhattan all the way past Madison Ave."

The iPad Mini is more than half the weight and a quarter the size of the traditional iPad, featuring a 7.9-inch multi-touch display. It also boasts a front-facing FaceTime HD camera, rear-facing 5-megapixel camera that records 1080p HD video.

Also available today: the fourth-generation iPad with faster processing chip.