Impressive lines suggest first day iPad 2 sales could hit 500k, analyst says - Page 2

I just got back from Wal-Mart and overheard the manager tell an employee to "go get the iPads" and only then remembered it was launch day, but i don't know if he meant old or new models. I know they stock at night tho, maybe a new bunch came in?

Back in bed typing this? lQQked much?

Biggest store in the area. In Pittsburgh Shadyside would be the flagship store, while South Hills would be a satellite store.

LOL!

They closed at 3pm to set up the display units etc. Something they do for pretty much every evening launch

But nice try

A story with a happy ending! And New Jersey came out looking ok to boot! I like it! Conrats...

Artist exclusive: buy an iPad 2, get a free palette!

Ballmer better get ready to have the record broken for his Wii ripoff accessory, otherwise known as Kinect.

Are most of you guys going Wifi, or 3g? im getting a white one, but since they got rid of the unlimited 3g last year im leaning Wifi. any opinions?

Yes and no.

Remember that most stores haven't had a remodel in the last year, so their stock areas are at the same capacity as the last launch. But where that one was 3 models this one was 18 models. So they like got the same number of gross units but spread out across the whole lineup. Most stores likely sold out pretty fast of certain items if not all of them

That said, Apple has probably arranged for special overnight deliveries of more which will arrive sometime Saturday, hopefully morning or very early afternoon. Since I have been on set all day and will be tomorrow, I am hoping they start reservations at some point real soon.

16GB
WiFi*
Black
Smart Cover (Navy)

* Jailbroken iPhone with MyWi.

edit..........

OMG, my iPad has gone mad:




This can't be right.

If he was smart, he'd have bought Apple stock 3 years ago, or better yet, 10 years ago. Actually three years ago would be considered smart. 10 years ago, luckythere's really no way anyone could have predicted the level of Apple's success. I bought stock three years ago.

Maybe, the CPU was surely holding back how mug data TW WiFi could process at once.

Also, and probably unrelated, the new MBPs are the first Apple end user devices to use 3x3 MIMO, according to AnandTech. What I the WiFi chip in the new iPad.

This is why I like your posts wen if I don't often agree with what your write.

That's right, I have a life -- more interested in installing my new swaybars for better handling on my car!

Moron move by Apple -- this is something which should have been done LAST NIGHT!

Reality is, this has to be an Apple publicity trick, why else close the store during a Friday -- to build lines from morons with no value to their time.

IF I would order one, it would be when I don't have to wait in a line... But I am waiting, since I don't NEED one.

Download the free iSwifter browser( it plays flash video 10x faster than skyfire). Then go to speakeasy and see what kind of speeds you get.

Well, you sure are snippy tonight!
My point is this: Once you announce the date they will become available, people get excited and, if they are planning to get the item, their "hunger" for it gets sharpened. By announcing iPad availability for a certain date and then forcing some people to have to wait weeks--sometimes wasting time in lines that end up with no available stock or showing up at a store after checking availability only to find that they just sold out again--well, that can piss people off.

Sure, the people that get them this weekend are going to be happy. I give you that. But think about it this way: Apple started ramping production a month or two ago. By your logic, they should have started selling the iPad 2 as soon as some were off the assembly line in--even if there were only a few thousand available. I mean, they could have made a few thousand people happier earlier. Why didn't they do that? Presumably because it would have annoyed the masses of people who would be tantalized by the fact that some were for sale, but they had no chance to get them.

It may be too subtle a difference for some, but I was not suggesting that Apple "push back" the launch in the sense of changing the launch date. I think that would have led to more public relations problems and angst. In fact, I think I am arguing the opposite idea. I think they should have just announced a later launch date. The problem is in getting people riled up and then disappointing them.
Less than a month ago, the iPad2 was still a rumored product that Apple had yet to announce or even confirm. That is the time to make people wait--not after it has been released.

Now, I know full well that by taking the position that Apple made an error in logic one risks looking like an idiot--everything Apple does these days just works. I am fully ready to admit that I could be misguided and laughably off track. And certainly, Apple has managed to make an art form of product announcements and rollouts. Lines and limited supply have generated buzz and excitement. My position, right or wrong, is that this will serve them less well over time.

Edit: I guess I have to mention again: clearly, we don't even know yet what kind of supplies Apple has in stock or what demand will be over the next week or two. They may be able to restock stores overnight and keep up with things fine. Anecdotal stories of sellouts on this site does not mean that they were woefully unprepared. So all my talking above is premised on the "if they don't have significantly more stock to sell this week than they had for the original iPad rollout" qualifier.

How does a particular Apple Store become a flagship? Easy. Apple Retail declares, "This is a flagship store."

Generally speaking they are large standalone stores (i.e., not in a mall) with a distinctive look. The glass cube store in NYC is an example of a flagship.

When comparing today's launch of iPad 2 to last year's launch of iPad 1, no one seems to recall the 3G versions weren't available until something like 3 weeks after the launch. This time all versions were supposedly available at launch that's a big change. I probably would have tried to get an IPad last year at launch day if the 3Gs were available. As it was, I think it was over a month after launch that I got my hands on my much coveted 64G 3G iPad. (Even after the 3Gs were released, no store seemed to be able to keep a 64G version in stock. Since I was going to Chicago for vacation a few days later, I didn't reserve one in any of the S. Florida stores I checked. I ended up reserving one in a Chicago Apple store the day I arrived and got mine 5 days later. It was a good thing my vacation was a week long!)

Today I went to the launch at Dadeland Mall (south of Miami, FL.) I'm bad at estimating but I think there were about 200 ahead of me when I got in line at 2pm. Around 2:30, employees came out to announce they had received no 16G 3Gs but had received all other models but some were "in limited quantities" and they'd be going through the line handing out cards for each iPad they had. (I later heard from a store employee that they received the shipment around 1:00.) At 3:00, they started going down the line with a cart full of sorted cards asking each person which model they wanted. By the time they got to the section I was in (We were separated from the front section by several yards because of mall layout.) they announced they were out of 32G 3G cards. They ran out of white 64G 3Gs a few people ahead of me. (Fortunately I wanted a black one anyway.) The guy ahead of me also took a black 64G 3G card but stated he had really wanted a white 32G 3G and soon left the line stating he was going to try and sell his card to someone. I think he and maybe some other people did that because after I got my iPad and walked by the end of the line and employee was asking if anyone had a 64G 3G card and a few people raised their hands so I'm thinking store employees were a little confused thinking they should have sold those out already serving that part of the line and wondering where the "missing cards" were. (It wasn't a problem for those people in either case. They told us we *could* leave the line after getting our cards and be guaranteed the iPad on the card but we'd likely have to wait longer by having to go to the back of the line. I didn't see anyone but that guy in front of me leave the line after getting his card though.)

Anyway, I got my iPad at 5:30 and went to dinner in the mall. I passed by the store around 7:30 and there were about 50 people still waiting in line. I asked the employee supervising the line if they completely sold out and she confirmed they had.

This is the second time I've done the wait in line Apple device launch thing. (The other was for the iPhone 3G my first iPhone. I did eventually get both 3GS and 4 but not on launch day.) Launch days are fun and tend to fall on Fridays which is my day off. I fully acknowledge I'm a geek and an Apple fangirl. I like hanging out with the other geeks in line! If the next iPhone receives on a 4G network, I'll probably go to that launch too. And if there's a fall release of iPad 3, I'll not only buy it but probably do launch day again!

Don't forget to add online orders on day 1 to your estimates. I think that is how the "pro" analysts' estimates get so high.

I seriously wish Apple would open four or five stores in India. Would make my life a lot easier. But sadly, India's a f*cking mess right now. \

I was at the Eastview Mall outside of Rochester NY and was actually shocked to see the line there. I counted 75 people before I gave up counting and likely only had walked 2/10ths of the lines length. Since I got there late I'm sure they sold many iPads in those short few hours. This is a small store so we are talking something like 500 easy in 5 hours, so a larger store could easily be moving far more Friday and throughout the weekend.

I'm not surprised that iPad2 is doing well, I'm just shocked by how many people just had to have the pad opening day. Since I'm far from any big metropolitan area it is hard to judge what has happened this weekend (really just Friday) but I wouldn't be surprised if Apple already has 200,000 into customers hands. It would be a reasonable guess that they have already manufactured a couple of million so the struggle right now is distribution and getting the right variants into the right stores.

Constrained maybe, but it also could be distribution. They should have the capacity to make 3 million a month and I would imagine ramp up started in Janurary. All the math and statistics aside it is still a crap shoot to stock a store properly for a new product release.

You see this bothered me a lot because this is far from a product refresh. A product refresh gives you a 20% speed boost and a little more RAM. I see this as an update equal to the jump the new AIRs had over the old models that made the new AIRs far more appealing. You see a product refresh while I see a major product overhaul. Like the AIR this overhaul will make the iPad 2 far more appealing to a wider array of people.

In many ways the new iPad 2 is a machine that appeals to a wider array of users, while iPad 1 is and early adopters machine. I know it bothers many people on this forum when I say this but iPad 1 came up short in a couple of ways. To little RAM and no built in FaceTime support makes for to many limitations.

Oh by the way yes I think FaceTime is and will be a major factor in sales. It is really the only rational reason to want cameras on a device that large. It is also why I think complaints about the cameras is bogus, I just don't see people holding an iPad to take snap shots.

Well at least now I don't feel as though my predictions of Apple moving 3 million a month is totally out of whack. That would be world wide of course. As to tonight I just am not sure what is up, it just seems strange that people would stand in lines hundreds long for anything much less a computer.

Ha! I was at that very store. I was number 17. I got there at like 10 am. One girl was worried they wouldn't have enough but the staff said they had plenty and apparently they did. These long blocks are insane and 14th street is much much smaller than 5th street. They must have sold a couple thousand of these things. Every kind of person was in line black white Muslim gay strait thug clean cut poor rich old young you name it.

Even though it doesn't seem like it yet, the ipad2 is the second gen MBA all over again.

In Las Vegas, I didn't bother with any of the three Apple Stores after the last iPhone mess. So at 4:15 I went into a Best Buy, where there was a line of about 35 people and word from management was they only had 20 units. So I went next door to a Walmart and was #13. After a few minutes they were allocating their inventory down the line and all they had left after the first 8 people was 64GB units, so I went to the next Walmart on the way home where I encountered the same situation. Meanwhile my boyfriend went to a different Walmart in a not-so-nice part of town where he was #6 and got the desired 16GB black wifi after about a 10-minute wait.

Fast forward a few hours, we drove down to the Strip to get something to eat and to see what the line situation was like. People were saying there was a 2-hour wait at one store (Town Square) and the other (Fashion Show) wasn't quite as busy but looked to be at least an hour. The Walmart option was definitely the better one!

I think you're right. And, the "competition" is gonna have an even harder time catching up. So, they'll add all sorts of ports and boast "specs": 2 GB RAM!! SD card slot!! Five USB ports!! Built in printer!!! 12 MP webcam!! 1200 watt Surround Sound speakers!!!

My guess is iPad 3 is in the testing phase, and iPad 4 is in the latter design phase.

So nice to see Apple bringing people together.

Haha @ built in printer.

I won't say anything to embarrass myself, but I feel like a big kid right now. I don't think even crack is this addicting.

At one of the few SF penisula Apple stores, the stock of iPad2s was so poor that after waiting in line 5 hrs with only 150 people in front of me when the doors reopened at 5pm (with a max of 2 units purchased per person), I went home empty handed because the 2 people in front of me bought the last 32 Mb Wifi only models. All 16Mb models were sold out well before I got to the front and there were only a few 64Mb (overkill) models with 3G left when I got to the front.
I was not amused and think the 500+ people behind me were similarly annoyed. If I had known that they'd be stocking their own stores with so few a stock I would have ordered online and saved a day waiting in line.
This is a very poor lauch. Yes, they can say they had long lines but if you can't meet at least most of the demand, what is the point. You just piss people off. I think they just lost a customer. This may just be a sign I should save my money

I wrote the exact same thing a couple of days ago on another thread here: Apple knows what you will be buying in 2012, 2013... and probably up to 2015.

2012 devices are already in finalization stages for production. Possibly some missing parts, or production facilities are waiting to retool and get up to speed, while at the same time... trying to keep up with the demand for iPad2. I expect iPad 2 shortages and delays through out the entire year.

If Apple could find a way to produce 100 million iPad 2's... I seriously doubt they would have a problem moving out every single one of them, whether this year or as with iPad 1, discounted after iPad3 launches.

Many people forget that there are some organizations (I know of 2 here in Germany) that will be purchasing over 1000(s) iPads in bulk. Lets add schools, hospitals, the airline industry, etc, etc.

Once again... it is the production logistics that is holding Apple back. Seriously, by all accounts, they could have sold 1 million on Friday alone! They tease people a bit too much, by not having enough inventory... and that is probably THE only thing as an APPL investor, that I find regrettable.

I would guess you could call it, kinda "magical", no?

Go ahead and embarrass yourself when it comes to finding joy in something.

Rather that than sticking your foot in your mouth "hating" on a device like many of the tech-pundits have done. I consider that seriously embarrassing, since they should know better than to bet against APPL and SJ at this point.

Surely, they shouldn't be making fun of his choice of words to describe his personal joy in creating products that bring comments and reactions such as yours.

Just for posterity, and wanting to share my experience with the Apple drug, simply known as "Magic".

The effect for me as a consultant is also not bad when recommending Apple products... a sample from a small client recently "turned on" to that drug that is Apple "Magic":

Guten Morgen Doc,
Good Morning Doc,
habe gestern meinen neuen Mac bekommen...
I received my new mac yesterday (MBA 13" fully loaded)
Time Machine Laufwerk angeschlossen...3 Minuten gewartet..
Plugged in Time Machine and waited 3 minutes...
und ich habe eine 1zu1 Kopie meines MacBooks!!!!!!
and I have a 1 to 1 copy from my MacBook!!!! (13" MBP)
Ich bin total begeistert und impressed!!!!!Alles drauf--Passwords everything!!!!!
I'm totally fascinated and impressed!!!! Everythings there... passwords, everything!!!!
Konnte sofort weiterarbeiten.....
I can start working immediately...
Meine Mädels mit Ihren Windows-Gurken auch..hahaha!!!!
My girls (wife and daughter) with their Windows-Pickles (really .. also means slow, worthless piece of junk) ... hahaha!
Ist der Hammer oder?????
It's the greatest.. or?????
Wollte dir nur berichten....
Just wanted to let ya know...
Bis bald!!
Til later!!
Willi

I did nothing other than recommend the new MBA, which he purchased at the Apple Store... and sent him a short email detailing a safe transfer from his TM backup (permission repair before and after, that’s about it).

Next step is “must have” the new iPad when it comes to Germany. I mean how fun is this when your only dealing with happy “joyful” people every day? Rather than in the early 2000’s, only dealing with clients with a myriad of problems, unhappy, swearing in 3 languages at me and the machines I/we delivered.

Now when I meet with clients, we spend our time on the next greatest software or product to integrate, rather than trouble-shooting persistent problems. What do you think is more productive?

That... in a far too long post...is “The Apple Magic”. The new drug of choice!

PS: The "Apple Magic Umbrella" effect: rather than purchasing the original MBP back from him (which I do), he's decided to keep it because his daughter wants it... and an iPad 2 of her own iPhones too, for the family, coming right up at iP5 time

This is toooo easy! Uhm... does this make me a drug dealer?

If anyone has made it through this thread to this point, you guys REALLY have to see this article at Engadget:

Xoom gets USB host functionality, no thanks to Motorola or Google

It is PATHETIC! This is about the Android fans and their huge claim to having USB ports!

Now I'm "flummoxed"!

So Apple generates mass interest and under produces to meet obvious demands. To state that the Ipad2 would be available at local department stores and then provide only 2 - 5 per store; really? Yes, I wanted one so I stood in line for 30 minutes (number 6 in line) only to learn that they were only sent 2 ....supposedly they didn't know that up front. Is it enough to make me not buy one? Probably, but I doubt it.

I had a great experience at a store in the Chicago suburbs. I arrived about 45 minutes before opening. The employees at the store went down the line and handed out "vouchers" for the different models available. They only had enough vouchers for the stock on hand. This was great since by the time the vouchers were all handed out, you'd know what if anything you'd be getting before hand. No more waiting in line 4 hours to then find out that they had just sold out. I got my voucher while in line and then it was just a matter of time of waiting in line chatting with other people until you finally made it into the store. Once inside the store an employee greeted me, took my voucher, retrieved the model I wanted and checked me out. Great job Apple!

Shortage means that they made their quarter numbers. Better release and quantity dates than option back dating for stock growth.