Buying an iPad

As much as I love Apple products, I never understood waiting online for days to buy one on the day of the release. Well, that changed for me a little last Friday. The iPad 2 came out and I got one.

Since it was announced I knew I wanted an iPad, but in general I try to wait for the second revision of Apple hardware. That's worked ok for laptops and I think with the iPhone. I'm not sure how I managed to wait a year before getting an iPad but I did. The iPad is a nice enough addition but I don't see a need to upgrade from the first version. Instead wait for iPad 3 in a year or earlier if you believe what I think is idle speculation more than rumor.

Anyway. The iPad 2 was release last Friday, there were no online pre-orders. I had basically decided I wanted a 64GB AT&T 3G model in black. The stores opened at 5pm (having closed at 3pm to setup). I went to my local store at the Chestnut Hill mall where I've always had good service (as opposed to the one in the Natick mall where I've gotten information I knew was wrong). I figured 2 hours would be reasonable but I was kinda bored and left home at 2, getting online a little before 2:30.

I was waiting in the mall. I wasn't doing anything stupid like camping out since monday as I saw some people in Texas do. I brought a paperback book and my iPhone so kiling 2-3 hours wasn't a problem. I found the line to be pretty sparse and counted that I was about 40th in line. There were two mall cops there and everyone was orderly. It was mostly people in their 20s but there was a mix. The woman in front of me was a lawyer and mother of a 4 year-old. The people behind me was an Japanese woman and what I'm guessing was her teenage (or older) daughter. After a bit I was chatting with the lawyer about Apple products, attending lectures and various ways kids communicate now and time went by quickly.

Over time Apple employees came out and gave us free bottled water and then hot coffee. They also came out and answered any questions we had about the iPad. Then they announced they would be coming around taking orders. You tell them what model you want and they give you a small card for that model guaranteeing availability. At that point you had to stay in line and couldn't change your mind on models. They said previously people wandered away and it got difficult for them to track the assigned inventory. It seemed like a very good system.

I realized it afterwards but after I got in line apparently a lot of other people met friends in front of me and joined the line. I'm not sure of the protocol or if saves were allowed but it didn't bother me until they brought the cards and told me 64GB AT&T iPads in black were sold out and I'd have to settle for white. I think it should be a strict no saves policy.

As I got to the front of the line, there were two employees controlling the line. The were buffering customers entering the store. I waited until an employee was assigned to me to lead me in and help with everything. She took my card and we got my iPad from stacks in the back at the Genius Bar. She then answered any questions and showed me the smart covers (I choose dark blue which came in leather) and a camera connection kit (I'm traveling to a friend's wedding in a month). She charged my credit card on the portable device as is normal in an Apple Store. As much as they innovate in their products they do the same with the retail experience in their stores.

It was even more obvious in the way the other stores reacted to the line. The line was very orderly with most people staring into a cell phone or laptop or talking quietly. The guards had us snake through the middle of the mall, about 10 feed away from any walls. I asked why and he said something about access but it didn't make much sense to me. If they had told us to leave space by the entrances we would have. In fact, even as we were 10 feet from the stores, one employee came out and told us to leave a gap in the line in front of her entrance so people could get through. It really wasn't a problem as people walked through the line all the time but we did as she asked.

But this all seemed like such a wasted opportunity. Other stores seemed annoyed that Apple had this line. I would have viewed it as a captive audience. Here you have potential customers standing in front of your store for 3 hours, why not try selling to them? The line snaked past a small cafe, I was shocked they didn't put some pastries on a tray and walk up and down the line selling them. I even mentioned that to them and they just said to me that's a good idea and went back to cleaning something. A tea shop there normally gives out free samples to lure you in, but not this day. I think even a clothing store could carry some sale item down the line to get someone interested. Maybe they'd stop in after getting their iPad or maybe the store could have an employee hold their place in line.

I'm not rushing to wait in line again, but it wasn't a bad experience at all. And I haven't stopped playing with the iPad since.