New iPad launch: Apple fans out in force to bag new tablet

The new iPad went on sale in London this morning and the first in line at the flagship Regent Street store was Zohaib Ali who spent six days sleeping rough to get his hands on the device.


“I’m really excited to get my new iPad, eventually,” the 21-year-old student from Uxbridge told Yahoo! News.

“First thing I am going to do once I get back home is use Facetime and use all the new features."

[Related story: ‘Do you know this dog?’ Hunt for stolen iPad causes online storm]

Also near the front of the queue for the device, which went on sale in stores around the world, was 17-year-old Andrew Bracken, who waited in line for over 24 hours.

“I haven’t had much sleep,” he admitted. “I decided to come early yesterday [Thursday] morning and there has been a really good atmosphere around. I went to a normal store last year and it was kind of boring leaving with the iPad so it is better to be here with likeminded people to share the experience”.

As customers filed into the store they were applauded by Apple staff.

An audacious attempt to sell fourth place in the line on eBay emerged on Thursday, the listing attracting 13 bids with the price up to £76. The listing has since been removed by the site and fourth in line, freelance graphic designer Peter Mitchell, revealed surprise that his place was seemingly up for grabs.

“It’s kind of silly really because the listing had photos up from the iPhone 4 launch so people could tell that they were fake photos,” he said. “I guess it is a way to make money but it is a scam.

“You can make a lot of money from queuing and get your iPad cheaper that way. I was really tempted to do that but I decided to stay at the front with my friends”.

Announced on March 8, the latest iPad comes with an improved ‘Retina’ display which has a million more pixels than a high definition TV set. Apple said that “off the charts” demand had severely cut initial stocks of the iPad, with pre-order deliveries delayed for up to three weeks in the UK.

The scenes on Regent Street were mirrored across the globe as thousands queued to get the new tablet. Australians were first to pick up the iPad. Former truck driver Steve Parkes was paid £635 to wait outside Sydney’s Apple store for four days wearing a promotional t-shirt for job website Airtasker.

He told the Sun Daily: “I've got no great interest in Apple itself.”