Apple’s heavily hyped iPad went on sale on Saturday in the United States with exciting customers crowding to get their hands on what some see as a major new step in the digital evolution. The Apple flagship store in New York greeted hundreds of people who had waited since just after dawn with high fives, whooping, and a New Year’s Eve-style countdown. Many of the shoppers were from outside the United States, which is initially the only country to sell the touch-screen tablet, retailing at between 499 and 829 dollars.
Adi Thomas, who flew in from Australia, said the iPad was “slim, beautiful”. “I really want to get it home and play with it,” Thomas, 38, said. Dutch IT consultant Hans Schoenmakers, 49, proudly declared himself the first person from the Netherlands to own the shiny gadget. “It is better than I thought. I will use it for email while on the couch – and Internet and reading books,” he said.
There were scenes of nearly hysterical enthusiasm as dozens of Apple staff in matching blue T-shirts psyched themselves up before opening hour with rhythmic clapping and cheering. Customers emerged from the glass-roofed store, holding their newly minted toys in front of the television news cameras like trophy winners.