Black market gangs join the iPad stampede to ship tablets to India (as enterprising teen, 16, jumps back 14 spots for £300)
- 'Agents' earned £20 a day to join the queues at Apple stores
- iPads exchange hands at inflated prices just outside Regent Street store
- One agent aims to pick up 70 iPads today and ship them to India
- Noah Green, 16, sells his spot in the queue for £300
- Woman in New York offers her place in queue for $1000
- Tech reviewers are unanimous: The screen is a revolution
They came in their droves and queued outside Apple stores all over the world.
From Tokyo to Sydney, London to New York, thousands waited for hours – sometimes days – to get their hands on the third incarnation of the iPad.
Some who didn’t like the idea of sleeping on a cold pavement paid as much as £300 to jump the queue.
Customers in Apple's Regent Street store, all
bagged up with their purchases. Dozens of people were paid by 'agents'
to join queues around London and grab iPads to sell on. However, there
is no suggestion that those pictured had any part in this.
The frenzy – reminiscent of the scenes which greeted the launch of its predecessor this time last year – is all the more surprising given that the latest iPad represents only an evolution of previous designs rather than a revolution.
Its key selling point is a so-called ‘retina display’, with a high-definition touchscreen boasting 3.1million pixels – more than an HD television.
The new model, which costs from £399 to £659 in the UK, also comes with an improved camera and a faster processor, making it attractive to those who use it to play games.
The wait for the pay-day paid off: 16-year-old Noah Green was fourth in the queue - but sold his spot for £300
Eager for a bite of the Apple: People sit in
the queue for the new iPad 3 outside the company's flagship store on
Regent Street in London
Noah Green, a 16-year-old student from Stanmore, North-West London, had been fourth in the queue at Apple’s flagship store in Regent Street, London, but said someone had paid him £300 to move back.
Before going through the door, he said: ‘It is worth it. I am still 18th in the queue so I will be one of the first to buy an iPad. I am going to sell it though and earn some money.’
Many appeared to have been paid £10 or £20 to wait in line for hours on behalf of a third party.
Some buyers had their hands full of shopping bags filled with products. One was even pictured wheeling items out on a trolley.
First! 21-year-old Zohaib Ali from London celebrates getting his hands on the first iPad 3
Ali's 141-hour wait: The 21-year-old ate, drank and slept at the front of the queue
At
Westfield shopping centre, in Shepherd’s Bush, West London, a number of
buyers were seen handing purchases – still in their shrink-wrapped
boxes – to a waiting group of Eastern European men.What the reviews say
Every reviewer has raved about the iPad's screen, packing a huge 3.1 million pixels.
Tech site The Verge said: 'Yes, this display is outrageous. It's stunning. It's incredible. I'm not being hyperbolic or exaggerative when I say it is easily the most beautiful computer display I have ever looked at.
Walt Mossberg, of AllThingsDigital, said: 'It has the most spectacular display I have ever seen in a mobile device.'
Macworld said: 'You’re left with the same sort of typographic excellence you’d expect in a printed book.
'It has the most spectacular display I have ever seen in a mobile device.'
Slashgear said: 'Steve Jobs would have approved of the new iPad.
'With its focus on the holistic experience rather than individual boasts around its constituent parts, it’s the epitome of the Post-PC world the Apple founder envisaged.'
Tech Crunch said: 'Once you see and use the new iPad, there will be no going back.'
Tech site The Verge said: 'Yes, this display is outrageous. It's stunning. It's incredible. I'm not being hyperbolic or exaggerative when I say it is easily the most beautiful computer display I have ever looked at.
Walt Mossberg, of AllThingsDigital, said: 'It has the most spectacular display I have ever seen in a mobile device.'
Macworld said: 'You’re left with the same sort of typographic excellence you’d expect in a printed book.
'It has the most spectacular display I have ever seen in a mobile device.'
Slashgear said: 'Steve Jobs would have approved of the new iPad.
'With its focus on the holistic experience rather than individual boasts around its constituent parts, it’s the epitome of the Post-PC world the Apple founder envisaged.'
Tech Crunch said: 'Once you see and use the new iPad, there will be no going back.'
At Covent Garden, men were seen handing over money, collecting receipts and organising scores of people queuing.
One agent, who gave his name as Martin, said: ‘I hope to get around 70 iPads today. I will be sending them on to India.’ The new iPad will not be on sale officially in India for at least another week.
Stores were given only a limited supply of the new device and many had sold out by mid-afternoon.
This allowed buyers who did manage to get one the opportunity to make a quick profit by selling them via eBay.
Sellers on the auction website were offering the 16GB version, which connects to the web via wifi, for as much as £562.79 – a mark-up of £163.79, or 41 per cent, on the official price of £399.
The scenes were repeated around the world. In Paris, one customer, Athena May, said: ‘I don’t think it’s worth the price but I guess I’m a victim of society.’
Shares in Apple punched through the $600 barrier – a new record – briefly on Thursday pushing the value of the technology giant to $560billion (£354billion) and confirming it as the world’s most valuable company.
Blanket coverage of the iPad launch: Fenella Barnes and Harry Barrington-Mountford, from Upminster, sit in the queue
Apple employees welcome customers to the company's Covent Garden store in London
He'll remember this: Staff clap for the first customer at an Apple store in Hong Kong this morning
Joy: Zhuo Hanling with his wife Seah Swee Kheng
and their daughter look at one of their third generation iPads after
being first in line to purchase the tablet computer in Singapore
Queues in Europe: Christof Wallner, 23, from Austria, was the first new iPad buyer in Germany
Waiting: Avid Apple fans were lined up around the block eight hours ahead of the iPad's 8am launch
Cashing in: Amanda Foote, left, waited with her friend in the line outside New York's main Apple store
Eager: People line up to enter a branch of M1 Limited in Singapore
I can see clearly now: A close-up of the
display, courtesy of The Verge, shows what a difference the pixels make
to the iPad 2's already sharp screen
First! Construction manager David Tarasenko gets
the first-ever retail iPad in Sydney - but admits it was the hype that
made him open his wallet
3 comments:
the new iPad is available in India, with assured delivery times, and all inclusive price... no hassles of customs, taxes, etc.... checkout
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http://blog.firangibhai.com/?p=899
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Finally, iPad 3 for india is successfully sent. I read different comments of indian people who are creating best essay help uk such examples. These examples are best because enterprising teens are getting ready to use it. Different designs for such ipad are must sent to there now wait to see there comments.
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