New iPads!
Sunday, April 4, 2010 at 5:07PM (accidentally posted this as a page instead of as a regular post in Blatherings, so am reposting here)
By the time Jeff, Cedrick and I arrived at the Apple store in Columbus, OH, there was already a line-up:
Cedrick, by the way, is a boardgame publisher from Belgium that Jeff and I recently met at a gaming convention. Cedrick works for Repos Production. Repos is responsible for some of my favourite games, including Ca$h'n'Guns and Ghost Stories. Meeting Cedrick Caumont is definitely one of our trip highlights so far: he's sweet, he's funny, he's passionate about boardgaming.
Even though the three of us had pre-ordered and didn't technically have to line up, we couldn't help but arrive an hour early. Not surprisingly, there was already a line-up of others like us, plus a longer line of those who hadn't pre-ordered.
Fun to chat with the others in the line as we waited, re-hashing the latest rumours and comparing our obsessions. Here's one of my new line-up friends ( @BigMo_Daddy on Twitter), who planned to use the iPad for academic research and papers:
A few minutes after we arrived, this cheerful Apple employee took our information to verify that our iPads were, indeed, reserved:
For one heartstopping moment, I thought she couldn't find my reservation, but it turned out that she just had trouble maintaining her wifi connection so far from the Apple store entrance.
Shortly before launch time, we heard a cheer from people near the front of the line as the curtains cover the store windows were pulled away. A counter of iPads! And one of them was mine!
Here's a pic of the employees getting a prep talk just before the doors opened:
People were let in a few at a time. As each of us entered, we were asked to give our names as well as the type of iPad we wanted. Then we were introduced to an Apple employee who would help us. Our helper's name was Jessica, and she didn't seem at all disturbed by my manic enthusiasm.
"I had a guy before you who videotaped the whole transaction," she said. She encouraged us to check out the iPad accessory area first, warning us that supplies were limited. One of the extras I bought: a Pogo Sketch stylus:
Because numbers were being carefully controlled, the store interior wasn't nearly as chaotic as I had feared. And because every customer had an Apple employee assisting them every step of the way, everyone got their questions answered immediately.
And then finally, we got our iPads:
While Jeff was paying for his iPad, I took the opportunity to get my iPad set up so I could start using it right away. Here's the fellow who helped me with the setup, patiently posing with Jessica:
And now YAY, I finally have my iPad! My expectations were high, and so far I haven't been let down. I'll post a more coherent and objective review over in Inkygirl.com when I've had a chance to use the iPad a little while longer.
For those interested in my continued iPad ravings, please follow @ipadgirl on Twitter and my iPadGirl Posterous blog.
And HUGE thanks to my sweetie of a husband for the birthday gift!
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