Apple confirms Best Buy iPads at launch, what time you'll need to be there
By Tim Stevens 
posted March 29th 2010 8:55AM
posted March 29th 2010 8:55AM
posted March 29th 2010 8:55AM
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Try 8:45 the day before.
@Jeremiah
So who all is going just to play with it?
@B3ASTx3
That's me. I'll stop by on launch day to see if they have one, so I can see if it's worth all the hype.
@Jeremiah
Forgot to put the AM after it. OI
@Jeremiah
Funny how in one country people stand in line for a day to buy an iPad, and in another people stand in line for a day to get a glass of water.
Mad world.....
@Jeremiah Try 9:30AM the day of.
There's not going to be a line for this thing.
@badasscat Keep trying top convince yourself of that, while you type away at your PC.
@Jeremiah
Do you think there'll be enough iPads to handle the heavy flow?
@Kid Red Why would there even be a line at Best Buy? Apple has never launched anything at Best Buy before. I hardly think most people would consider Best Buy when they're trying to pick up an iPad unless they're just withholding that information from the public for a last second advertising blitz.
@badasscat
Of course, there's going to be a line for the iPad. It's an Apple product and the iPad will be the computer product of the year and Apple will own the tablet market. This has all been foretold by St. Steve of Cupertino.
@Jeremiah : Am gonna buy one, install flash on it and return it. :)
@Jeremiah the only thing i worry is that it may lag, and that's not a good thing.
@MosesusedaniPad:
Only because sites like this one make post after post after post about the iPad, all repeating the same information. No other tablets will be able to compete for the sole reason that the internet hardly acknowledges them because they aren't labeled "hipster".
@Jeremiah
Yeah you should get their early due to the fact that the Best Buy stores with apple sections are only getting about 5 to 10 iPads.
@musback funny....
@MosesusedaniPad In Steve we trust, amen.
@Jeremiah
I'm surprised with the iPad that any information was "leaked" ahead of time in the first place.
@Luke
HA I see what you did there...
@Luke I guess no one here has read the entire bestbuy ipad launch playbook.. There will be 3 of each. 3 16gig, 3 32gig, and 3 64gig. So Im guessing they will easily be sold out. My question is that this post says they will be availible "at most" of best buy stores.. The playbook says they will only be availbe at bestbuy stores with apple shops in them..??
@MosesusedaniPad And confirmed by Wired. Wired! Didn't you know, the tablet will take over the world!
I guess Bill Gates was right after all!
@musback
Thank you very much for reminding us of that simple truth. Mad or Sad, I'm not sure, but it's one of those.
Peace.
@musback
So true. However, should one than propose that we distribute everything evenly? Because we sure as hell know that doesn't work. The existence of both rich and poor is crucial to society. This is something of profound economic philosophy and I believe even biblical philosophy if that's your thing.
Not to say that it makes it "good" or "okay" or "right". But many would argue that it is simply "necessary", in the same way that life feeds on life.
.........so who's ready to stare at the app store on Saturday wondering whether they should spend $30 or $50?
In all seriousness, the world can sometimes just be sad. I'm not sure mad is the right word, as that implies there is definitely some other way to do it "right".
im actually intrigued as to how well this thing actually does....
@skyblaze
Who cares how it works?! The cool thing is to have it!!1
@skyblaze That's what she said!
And not even a preorder option on the Spanish Apple website :/ howcome?
@MoonWalkerCTE
Spanish people get sloppy seconds...
I'm in line RIGHT NOW.
Just kidding. I'm interested to see the sales on this.
Sounds about right. I don't see the mass hysteria for this device happening.
@respect2nd You don't see "hysteria for this device happening"? Would you classify first-day sell-out as hysteria for an entirely new non-essential gadget? Would you classify pre-orders of 350,000+ as hysteria, for a device which people see as completely pointless and missing the mark, despite the fact that competitors now seem to have a benchmark against which to market their own tablets, i.e., flash support, changeable battery (which I guess is needed to support flash), standard USB, micro USB, RS232, SD card slot, UMI out, FM radio, etc, etc...
Sounds like the iPad competitors will be creating heavy, resource-hungry devices, to try and mimic a PC. Do we really need that?
I hate Apple, but I think the iPad has already been a success, despite the fact that it has not been launched yet!
@respect2nd You're a bit late. The hysteria started ~7 years ago.
@Ruthless
RS232? Are we back in the 90s now? And the rest of the industry isn't even bothering with making a crippled device like the ipad, they're weaknesses are much smaller less obvious ways. Mostly battery life.
First day sell out is hopefully just the mac fanboys getting their fix. sales will prob shrink very quickly until OS 4.0, which might just save the damned thing. Maybe.
@Stotherd
I can't think of a single soccer-mom family who will want this sitting on the end table in their media room. $500 is totally affordable for some people, and they get to show off that they have an apple, sync their iTunes movie and music, and have apps. There are a lot of people who can afford this and are willing to pay for it because they love their iProducts; Apple has a huge mindshare with the kinds of people who can afford a $500 device with no USB/card reader. It's going to sell really well, and anyone who thinks different is underestimating how many people love their iPhones/iPods.
@jamo I totally agree with you... people are definitely underestimating how well they are going to sell. I'm not really an Apple fan, but I can't wait to get my hands on one, cause I'm extremely tired of taking my laptop or netbook to bed to browse the web, or catch up on news, simply because:
- I have no real use for a physical keyboard to simply browse the web, catchup on Facebook, get some updates on youtube, etc. And besides, those keys are way too small!
- I'm fed up of having to connect the power lead after a couple hours use.
- I'm tired of my netbook producing excessive amounts of heat, warming my legs through the duvet.
- I've had enough of blue screens.
Looking to replace my dying netbook with my first iPad. Some people have advised me to wait for version 2. But I think I'll just have to get both, version 1 and version 2.
-
@Stotherd
Sales start to shrink! Are you kidding? Once the iPad hits Apple retail stores, the sales will take off like crazy. Every low-tech consumer will want one. The iPad will be the hottest product of the year. I'm glad I bought a lot of Apple stock. I'm gonna be rich.
@Ruthless
I just don't see it. I'm blind I guess. I have an iPhone and I'm very happy with it. I just don't see the day long lines and mad rush happening. Of course it will sell out, and of course it will sell early. But I don't see this as a "game changer" by any stretch. This is simply Apple claiming space in an emerging market. I remember when the iPhone came out and I'm sure you do as well. There isn't nearly the same amount of run up to launch surrounding this thing as there was for products like the iPhone or the 360, Wii, PS3. It's to ambiguous and expensive for a niche device in my opinion.
@Ruthless
I have a smartphone that I use to check all that stuff and more when I'm in bed.
But if you got money to blaooooooow, then go ahead.
@respect2nd I really think this is a bit more than "Apple claiming space in an emerging market". This is more like "Apple defining the emerging market single-handedly". Look at the iPhone, it does not really do anything extra than any other smartphone. My first smartphone of many years ago could handle, photos, text, video, games, utility programs, emails and most importantly, phone calls. Apple simply redefined the whole approach to using a mobile phone and almost all manufacturers have since copied. I mean, look at the HTC HD2, look at Android, look at the Palm Pre (or Pre Plus now). It's a direct copy (and in some cases, surpassing) of the iPhone.
When Steve Jobs says "magical" and "revolutionary", that's exactly what he means... a game changer, i.e. a new style which almost all manufacturers will try to mimic and surpass.
@Ruthless
Blue screens huh Ruthless? Wow....could you screenshot one of those blue screens and send it to me?
Honestly, the amount of people that lie about getting "blue screens" is funny. I've had a lot of computers die on me (mac and pc) and I've only seen 1 blue screen, a long, long time ago.
And you just used the "magical and revolutionary" phrase in complete seriousness didn't you. An angel loses its wings every time someone says that and believes it you know...
@(Unverified) That's not an easy thing to do... capture a blue screen and save it in MSPaint or similar. I currently have a desktop PC, a laptop and a netbook at home. The frequency of getting a blue screen has been increasing over a period of time. I think my desktop crashes when I run certain software, my laptop crashes when it starts to over-heat, and my netbook crashes because it has trouble running Internet Explorer, especially against Flash websites.
I also have a newer PC in my son's bedroom (purchased 20mths ago), but that is completely dead. The fan fires-up, but nothing else!
Let me know how I can send you an example of a blue screen. It would be great if you could show me how to fix it.
@Ruthless:
See here's the thing with it. People keep claiming they want it as a web browsing device for the bed or couch. But it's not going to work well. You can type on a keyboard while laying in bed or sitting, but how are you going to type on this? Lay it down? Yeah let's see how long you want to keep laying it down, typing, picking it up to see the screen, laying it down, typing, picking it up to see the screen etc etc. You could type one handed while holding it up...but you're also going to type insanely slowly and will get tired with it in no time.
If you own a laptop/netbook, and want to use a web browsing device in bed, save yourself the money and use the device you already own. There is no reason to buy this just for that reason.
Everybody here is right, this will sell out on day one. I myself believe that Apple is purposely creating shortages to increase demand. They announced this device and its release date months ago, if they wanted to, they could have had more produced in time. I do believe all the pre-orders are the Apple fangirlz or the people who need to have the latest iDevice to feel like they are cool. I just don't see people running out in the masses to buy a device that has been released twice now, only with a larger screen. It's not new, it's not magical, it's not different. It's just bigger.
@Jordan I suppose you have a good point there... I could simply use what I already have, i.e. my laptop or my netbook. However, do you know how hard it is to type on a keyboard whilst slouching in bed with my knees up? I get the feeling that a tablet will do a better job in that situation. And that's just one of many situations.
When I had my HTC winmo smartphone, I really did not need a new phone at all. But I decided to replace it with an iPhone, which seems to have changed the way how I communicate. I am confident that a device like the iPad will change the way how I use a 'computer'/media device at home. And that I am sure,
@Jordan
Browsing in bed with a netbook is hardly a comfortable experience. Want to lie back and watch a film? Move the screen back a bit. Want to type? Wait, I'll sit up, adjust the keyboard, and tilt the screen. Bugger, can't see well enough, I'll sit up straight. Back to the film? Lie down, push the screen back, balance the keyboard wherever you balance it.
With the Ipad? Rest it on your knees
@suicidebob:
I use a laptop in bed on an almost daily basis. It's not hard to do. Granted, I'm not putting my knees up, but it's really not hard at all to use or uncomfortable.
Do we have any confirmation of the iPad having any sort of screen rotation lock? If it doesn't, FORGET using this thing in bed. The iPhone is already bad enough with screen rotation, trying to use this in bed, resting it against your knees, halfway tilted down would be a nightmare.
"wunder-tablets" eh? *trollface*
I'm surprised at the amount of hype recently. Seems like it will do better then most people predicted.
This is gonna be amazing...
And yes there will be lines and campers...
The pre orders have sold out, watch the eBay prices creep up now...
Get there at 8:45 and you'll leave empty handed.
I can't wait to see all the Zealots camped out at my best buy :D