Gene Munster: Don't expect long lines for iPad 2
Gene Munster, a senior research analyst for Piper Jaffray, expects the lines for Apple's iPad 2 to be shorter than they were for the original iPad in 2010. Even so, Munster predicts Apple will sell over 1 million of the hotly anticipated iPad 2 in its first 28 days on the market.
When the original iPad launched last year, it was initially available at about 1,200 storefronts. This year, the iPad 2 will launch at over 10,000 locations in the United States. Customers swooning over the iPad 2 can join a queue at their local Apple Store or at any Best Buy, Target, Walmart, AT&T, or Verizon location. The broad variety of choices should result in thousands of shorter lines rather than hundreds of massive crowds.
Some Apple customers quietly "protested" against Munster's predictions for shorter lines. At least one avid camper already began his campaign to be one of the first to score an iPad 2 at the Knox Street Apple Store in Texas. Even Munster admits the Friday evening launch time, 5 pm on March 11, could still draw large crowds at some stores.
My guess is the long wait will be worth it for that ultimate Apple fan in Texas. It's a bold statement of pride for fans of the company. And your name will live on in the annals of Apple rumor sites as that guy who camped out for the iPad 2. That's worth something...isn't it?
