Almost shamefully, I’ve waited in line on launch day for every iPhone and iPad. Each waiting experience has had it’s highs and lows. All have definitely been memorable, but today’s takes the cake. Waiting in line at Apple’s Store at Biltmore Fashion Park in Phoenix, I was surprised to run into Phoenix Suns basketball player Mickael Pietrus waiting at the front of the line to get his hands on the iPad 2.
Today is iPad 2 day and like the rest of you I got up early today. I’d say way to early since it was 2:45 am CST and I was surprised to find out that my alarm clock on my iPhone 4 could be set to such an early hour. The engineers at Apple HQ in Cupertino could not have done a better job on that alarm, but for once I was wishing they’d screwed it up since I think it should be a crime for an alarm clock to ring before 5:00 am.
According to this Target employee, the store has only 5 iPad 2s for sale later today. They are all 64GB, WiFi-only models in black. That's not a lot of stock. We've hidden the employee's identity so they don't get fired.
If you’re thinking of visiting Target for an iPad 2 later today, better think again.
We just got a report from the stockroom of one Target store, which has only five iPad 2s in stock for sale at 5PM today. They are all 64GB, WiFi-only models in black.
An employee at the store just sent us the following message with the picture above:
“stockroom we only got 5 of the 64gb wifi only black models insulting right.
Stock levels at big box retailers like Target and Best Buy were expected to be much lower than Apple’s retail stores, but this is shockingly low.
It’s not clear if this is the inventory level at all Target stores, but I’d say it’s typical. Apple is offering the iPad 2 for sale at about 10 different retailers, so stocks are likely to be stretched thin. Obviously, retailers are keeping their inventory levels secret: they don’t want to scare potential shoppers away.
The Target employee summed it up nicely: “Better off waitin outside apple or best buy.”
The president of the New York Federal Reserve Bank came under fire after a comment that sounds oddly like the 2.0 version of “Let them eat cake.”
President William Dudley was peppered with questions about food prices from the public during a meet-and-greet session with business leaders in Flushing, Queens. As they asked him about issues of the day, ranging from oil prices to employment forecasts, they began to accuse him of being out of touch.
As he tried to explain how rising commodity prices translate into supermarket sticker shock, the audience asked him when he actually did his own food shopping last.
The only way to ensure that you have an iPad 2 today is to buy one from one of the many retail outlets. However, all retailers are not treated equally, so I’ll be giving you the run down on the best places to purchase your iPad 2 from.
Your best, hassle-free bet is to pick one up from an Apple Specialist. Here’s why:
Writer’s notes: this handy dandy guide was made with love to help you with your purchase of the iPad 2. If you’re looking to buy “the new iPad” which will be released on March 16th, 2012, click this pretty link for our updated guide.
Â
We’ve been getting a lot of questions from readers and friends over which iPad 2 you should buy. Should you go with WiFi only, or the 3G version for when you’re not around a hotspot? How much storage do you need? And most importantly, how do you choose between black or white?
The answer is that you should get the 16GB WiFi-only model in black. Here’s why:
Mobile editing is much easier when you have a plan. Photo: Apple
iMovie and GarageBand — two of the most exciting new applications for the iPad — went live in the App Store yesterday, and although GarageBand is supported on the first-generation iPad, iMovie unfortunately isn’t. There is a workaround, however, and you don’t need to jailbreak!
An astonishing 82% of consumers plan to buy an iPad despite the dozens of competing tablets due this year, a ChangeWave survey found.
There’s a caveat: that’s 82% of consumers who plan to buy a tablet in the next 90 days, which is only 5% of the 3,091 consumers surveyed in February – before Apple showed off the iPad 2.
Still, it’s a huge percentage. Only 4% plan to buy the Motorola Xoom; and 3% plan to buy RIM’s BlackBerry PlayBook and Samsung’s Galaxy Tab.
Further out, almost 30% said they will be buying a tablet in the future — also an amazingly high number. Not surprisingly, these tablets will cannibalize sales of netbooks, eReaders and even traditional notebooks.
Half of all people using mobile devices for business transfer “sensitive” data over smartphones and tablets, according to a Harris Poll released Thursday. Results of the survey, compiled from the responses of more than 2300 Americans in late January 2011 indicate tablets such as Apple’s iPad may herald a post-PC society, with men and younger audiences more likely to trust the security of their mobile data.
FuzeBox, developers of collaboration solutions for desktop and mobile installations, commissioned the survey, which found that sensitive data transfers appear to be increasing in the mobile universe as professionals begin to adopt tablets in larger numbers, and that tablets, generally, increase the likelihood of transferring sensitive and private information.
Here’s a random round-up of contests we’ve found offering the latest iPad as the prize.
Just about all are no-brainers that ask you to tweet or give your details in exchange for the chance to win, although some have age and geographical restrictions.
The International Data Corporation (IDC) reports an ongoing boom with tablet computers, with Apple’s iPad still kicking competitors to the curb.
They counted about twice as many “media tablets” sold in fourth quarter 2010 as the previous quarter – some 10 million computers.
Apple still has 73% share of the market – down from 93% Q42010 — but analysts expect them to keep that strong hold over competitors.
Apple is building on its strong 2010 first-generation iPad launch with the iPad 2, which will ship this month, before most competitors come to market with first generation media tablets. Although more competing devices will be launched this year, IDC expects Apple to maintain a 70-80% share of the market.
IDC defines media tablets as devices with color displays between 5-and 14-inches which run lightweight operating systems (such as Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android OS) and can be based on either x86 or ARM processors. Tablets, for the purposes of this research, are defined as tablet PCs run full PC operating systems and are based on x86 processors.
Just about 90% of all media tablets were shipped to the US, Western Europe and Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan) in Q42010.
If you can’t justify buying the iPad 2 because you recently purchased the original model, or you just can’t afford it, don’t despair. Instead, give your original iPad a mini make-over by purchasing one of these four cases. They are way cheaper than the new iPad 2 and won’t add anything to landfills.
Here’s how to give some new life to the poor old iPad.
The University of Kentucky’s Patterson School of Diplomacy has launched an 18 month trial evaluating the value of Apple’s iPad in professional graduate education. The entire school – students, faculty and staff – will use the iPad for tasks ranging from graduate seminars and courseware to admissions and student recruitment. The goals are both practical and forward thinking:
“With Facebook and Twitter empowering opposition movements in Iran and Tunisia, and the U.S. drawing a line in the cyber-sand in defense of Internet freedom, effective statecraft today demands mastery of new communication tools. 21st century diplomacy increasingly has a digital and high-tech edge – diplomatic training must too,” said retired Ambassador and Patterson School Director Carey Cavanaugh.
Approximately 50 Patterson School students, faculty, and staff began the iPad trial in February, and another 35 students are expected to join once the 2011 entering class is chosen.
Like a lot of people, I have mixed feelings about Craigslist. It’s like Ikea: in theory, you’d rather patronize mom-and-pop shops or get your stuff elsewhere. But somehow on a rainy Saturday afternoon: there you are.
Craigslist can be a pain to use or search – but if you’re looking for a garage sale, love connection or that elusive floor lamp with a table in it – you end up there.
Every so often, a new Apple product comes along with a breakthrough form factor that Jonathan Ive’s design team will riff on for years to come. As a result, there are many recurring motifs that provide clues to where Apple’s industrial design is heading.
Everyone seemed to be pretty excited about the Clamcase for the iPad, from Clamcase LLC. I was a bit puzzled by that after all the iPad is a tablet and a real laptop, like my MacBook Air, would be a better replacement for an iPad stuffed into a keyboard case.
Yet people wanted to be able to covert their iPad into a laptop and if you build it they will come right? Well build it they did and now you can have a Clamcase of your very own to turn your iPad into a clunky laptop wannabe.
It’s almost too easy to make a parody video of Apple and its products these days. The company follows an easily discernible regularity in its product launches and despite growing popularity and marketshare for all of its products over the last decade, Apple’s “image” is tagged with the weight of a certain “hipster cred” that tends to make for easy pickings when it comes to ridicule.
Director Dan Dobi and writer Steve Rogowski skate pretty close to several uncomfortable lines in this one, however, which, presumably is intentional.
After all, parody and sarcasm are about getting people talking, right?
Conan O’Brien thinks Apple is getting a bit cocky. Never one to pass up the opportunity for a good parody, Team Coco takes on Apple’s slick interview-laden style in this funny spoof of the iPad 2 launch video.
Think Steve Jobs is the only employee at Apple capable of harnessing the Reality Distortion Field? And ever wonder about those team fashion choices? (Promo spot plays before actual video.)
For those who like to add sparkle to their bling – and can afford to spend as much on their iPad case as on the iDevice itself – CrystalRoc has announced their Swarovski iPad 2 case. Featuring over 4,000 Xilion cut crystals this ultra-chic piece of loungeware will set you back $700, and is shipping immediately.
Why wait for ostrich leather? Not recommended for use on subways or in urban areas at night.
When the Apple Store came back online yesterday after the announcement of the iPad 2, customers were a bit shocked to find out that Apple is not taking any pre-orders for the device until March 11th, the same day the product hits store shelves. Apple has always had a great track record of taking pre-orders on products after they’ve been announced, so we’ve been wondering just why they’ve changed policy this time. Could it be that they’re afraid they’re not going to have enough initial stock to satisfy store orders as well as online orders?
Rumors were flying around the web days before the event that Apple has been facing supply constraints for the iPad 2 and that the product was facing the serious possibility of being delayed until April or May. When Steve Jobs took the stage yesterday, he went out of his way to adamantly state that the iPad 2 would be launching worldwide in March, and not April or May. Is the move to eliminate pre-orders an effort to increase the lines at stores and build even more hype around the excitement of the launch? That could possibly be the answer but I think it’s a bit unlikely.
