Second coming of iPad hits Edmonton - Edmonton Journal

On the first day of the second coming for Canadian iPad fans, John Winslow was first in line at Edmonton's Southgate Centre Apple Store.

Even though Apple didn't start selling the iPad 2 until 5 p.m. local time Friday, Winslow arrived Thursday at 5 p.m. -a full day in advance -with a lawnchair and a laptop to Tweet about his long wait.

He and a handful of overnight campers were eventually joined by hundreds of others eager to get their hands on the iPad 2.

It's the second version of the gamechanging touch-screen tablet that has spawned a wave of competitors such as Research In Motion's Playbook, which will be a launched in a month. Hewlett-Packard also plans to release a tablet.

Winslow said he wanted to avoid a repeat of last year when he missed out.

"The last time around, for the iPad 1 release, I showed up at six in the morning, waited until closing time and didn't get an iPad until a month after that because they ran out," Winslow said. "This time I figured first or nothing."

He plans to hand down his first iPad when he gets his hands on the new, thinner, lighter and faster iPad that Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled earlier this month to mixed reviews.

"I like the idea of the smaller size, the lighter device itself and the dual processor which makes your screen build nine times faster than the first generation."

He's also looking forward to the device's new dual cameras, allowing users to video chat.

A few places behind Winslow was Carmen LeBlanc, who arrived at midnight with her 16-year-old son.

She tried to order the gadget online, but discovered she would have to wait until late April before taking possession.

Unlike others in line, she doesn't own the original iPad. "With the second one, they've usually worked the technical problems out," LeBlanc said.

At West Edmonton Mall, Cynthia Gonzalez was one of the first to converge on the Apple Store, showing up before 6 a.m. despite already having two iPads in the family

"My husband is a technology fan and my daughter had such a good experience with them. There's just a lot of options for her education and for us," Gonzalez said.

They've sold one old iPad and will sell the other.

Apple released the iPad 2 in the United States on March 11, but waited until Friday to unveil it in Canada and 24 other countries.

While Apple may be hoping for a repeat of May 2010, when customers thronged stores in Edmonton for what was then a novel device, the early-morning lineups Friday seemed somewhat shorter than last time, perhaps because of the 5 p.m. launch.

The first iPad sold 300,000 units on its first day. Unlike last year, Apple did not take orders ahead of the release.

West Edmonton Mall spokeswoman Sheri Clegg said the Apple Store would stay open until midnight Friday to deal with the expected demand.

A quick check of Apple dealers Westworld and the downtown Future Shop before they opened Friday morning revealed no overnight lineups.

"While competitors are still struggling to catch up with our first iPad, we've changed the game again with iPad 2," said Apple CEO Steve Jobs in a news release. "We're experiencing amazing demand for iPad 2 in the U.S. and customers around the world have told us they can't wait to get their hands on it.

"We appreciate everyone's patience and we are working hard to build enough iPads for everyone."

The iPad is selling for a suggested retail price in Canada of $519 for the 16GB model, $619 for the 32GB model and $719 for the 64GB version.

Models with Wi-Fi and 3G are selling for $649 for the 16GB, $749 for the 32GB and $849 for the 64GB one.

bmah@edmontonjournal.com twitter.com/mahspace