Right on cue, Apple today released the new iPad, which again attracted throngs of buyers — not to mention the media looking to document the experience — in all 10 of the countries where it launched today.
AppleInsider is reporting on the launch of the new iPad Friday, which began at 8am in Australia — technically yesterday for our American readers — and has continued to roll out across all 10 countries getting first crack at the company’s newest tablet.
East Coasters got their first crack at the new iPad here in the U.S. when the doors to Apple’s retail stores opened on schedule at 8am. There were reports of Apple employees offering coffee to the waiting masses prior to stores opening on this brisk March morning, although unseasonably warm temperatures in many parts of the country will surely bring out additional buyers throughout the day.
New York City’s Fifth Avenue Apple store reportedly had a line so long by 8am that it “wrapped all the way up to W. 58th Street,” according to AppleInsider. That line first began on Wednesday as eager early adopters lined up outside the company’s glass cube, and apparently attracted a record number of press and media looking to cover the launch.
West Coasters still have a little wait ahead of them at this writing, but customers at the Westfield Mall in Century City, California got a little surprise when none other than Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak showed up to get in line. Woz is reportedly in the Los Angeles area to speak at an Apple Investor Summit, according to a quick video interview from Whatstrending.com (also embedded below).
“It’s just sort of like it’s become a ritual, almost,” Wozniak explained as he waited patiently for the new iPad. “Because I’ve done it so many times, I’m doing it again. It’s not something that you have to do. I mean, no nobody has to wait in line. You can pre-order.” When asked why Woz doesn’t simply get an iPad direct from the company he helped found, he dismissed the idea, claiming he’d rather be “genuine, like the real people.”
The new iPad launched Friday in the United States, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Switzerland and the UK, along with Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands — an even larger list of countries will be able to get their hands on one come March 23.
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(Image courtesy of AppleInsider, video courtesy of WhatsTrending.com)
Article source: http://www.maclife.com/article/news/new_ipad_arrives_worldwide
