I love gadgets. And I’m often first. But it’s really never occurred to me to line up or camp out for new gear. In fact, other than the Wii, I can’t recall any other recent true shortage of product. So I’d rather spend the night in my bed and wait a week for things to settle down. However, I must say that I do enjoy documenting folks with more free time and tolerance for discomfort than I… and I’ve been on hand to photograph the PS3, Wii, and various iPhone launches craziness over the years.
Today, of course, is the launch of the iPad. One hour prior to opening, Apple’s Reston, VA outpost had 9 folks in the pre-order line and less than 30 without hardware reservations. The first to show, a father and son team, arrived at 3:30AM. Which isn’t so bad as far as these things go. Also, Apple staff has kindly provided coffee, water, and cookies to all. Although, they wouldn’t disclose how many iPads they have in stock… other than to say they’d do their best to accommodate everyone in line.
Once these campers have been served, we’ll vacate the climate controlled Starbucks outpost across the way and check out the demo iPad units. Hopefully, I’ll be able to abstain from a purchase today. We shall see.
Click to enlarge:
For some historical perspective, here’s my truly classic suburban video of dozens of people camping 36 hours (with tents, in stormy weather) for the PS3 in 2006.
