Yes, that's right. They were only available at the San Francisco store following the MacWorld Keynote, and what they had sold out in a couple of hours.

If you catch the Keynote, Steve mentions that the SF store would have a limited amount available that day and then they'd officially begin shipping later (I want to say 1/22, which I know is when he said that the new iLife, iWork and the Mac Mini would be available).

Sometimes hardware demo units are available for the retail stores prior to the official release, but not always. Often the third party resellers get upset when the Apple Stores are able to have demo units before they can. There are lots of factors that come into play.

If interested in checking on the availability of the new stuff, consider calling the stores. They'll be glad to tell you if they have something in stock or have a demo unit there to play with. And of course, if you're already at the store, the reps there are much more informed than your typical retail employee. They should be able to tell you the latest word on availability for new products and maybe even on demo units.