Toshiba 10.1 inch Tablet: A Tough Challenger for Apple iPad 2

Toshiba is coming up with its first tablet PC very soon and a product page for the 10.1-inch device has already been created at Amazon where interested users can sign up to be notified for the arrival of the device. The tablet, which Toshiba has not yet given any specific name to, is expected to be launched very soon.

You might wonder what made me consider the Toshiba Tablet to be a potential challenger for Apple’s iPad 2 which is now the most hot-shot product in the technology world. Well, to be honest, there is hardly any difference between Toshiba tablet and iPad 2, considering the hardware specs of the two devices.

The device from Toshiba comes up with a 10.1-inch multi-touch display featuring Adaptive Display technology and the screen supports 720p video. Powered by a dual-core NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor, the tablet features a 2-megapixel front-facing camera for video chatting and a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera with autofocus for capturing video and images. It seems to be clear that Toshiba tablet has an edge over its Apple counterpart.

Unlike iPad 2, the Tablet PC from Toshiba features USB, mini-USB, full-sized SD card reader. That means Toshiba enables users to expand memory and enjoy file sharing between the tablet and other electronic devices. This is definitely an advantage for Toshiba device over iPad 2 which does not provide the users with any USB or memory card slot.

Moreover, the Toshiba tablet supports Adobe Flash, a facility unavailable in iPad 2. So, Toshiba users would have access to Flash-required content on their device, unlike the iPad 2 users. In addition, Toshiba may not offer a unique feature like smart-cover which is available with iPad 2, but the Toshiba tablet comes with an easy-grip interchangeable backplate which is non-slip and will help the users to hold the device comfortably while on the go.

Apple app store is said to be one of the biggest advantages of iPad 2 as the online store for applications allows iPad 2 users to choose from more than 65,000 apps. Naturally, users can easily find the apps that could meet their interest. It is true that Toshiba’s Android-based tablet cannot provide its users with so many apps at the Android Marketplace, but then Toshiba itself has created an online store where the company has stored most popular apps which it believes would meet the need of the users.

Overall, it is pretty much clear that Toshiba Android Tablet could be a tough challenger for Apple iPad 2 tablet PC.

Apple iPad 2 will be released on April 2011 in Korea

For Apple fans in Korea, the wait for iPad is almost over. KT Corp. is going to bring out the device in the Korean market. SK Telecom is going to sell the tablet too. It is expected that iPad 2 will pose a serious competition to Samsung’s Galaxy Tab in the Korean market.

In the next few weeks, Korean consumers are also going to see Motorola’s Xoom. SK Telecom is bringing the tablet from Motorola for this market. Samsung is a Korean company and Galaxy Tab is very popular in the country.

The price of iPad 2 should be from $499 (similar price of US market). Apple is taking the non-US market this time seriously. Korea can be an attractive market for iPad 2 tablet PC for two reasons.

Korea is a rich country in Asian standard. So, many people have the extra cash to buy this kind of gadget. Korean people are fond of gadgets. Secondly, the country can boast of excellent high speed broadband Internet facility not just in some large cities but spread across the entire country. High speed Internet is a must for tablet devices like iPad 2.

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Korea Times

An Apple iPad 2 story: Wish that Could Happen To You

Imagine another person standing in the long line in front of Apple store for two days and buys a fresh iPad 2 for you and all you have to do is pay him the money. Something similar happened to Chris Reimer, owner of Rizzo Tees, a funny T-shirt making company.

After the launch of the iPad 2, Chris has been trying to get one for him but failed to do so. Waiting in the long line, out of frustration, he posted tweets to his 52,000 followers. He asked them where to find an iPad 2.

On March 16, 2011, one of his followers, Muljadi Budiman, tweeted him saying he is standing in line at the Apple store and would like to bring an iPad 2 for him. Chris was very much surprised but he declined. Budiman tells him that he is not going to make any profit. He read his tweets about wanting an iPad 2.

Then on March 18, 2011, Budiman tweets him again saying that he is standing in line at the Apple store for he did not get one on Wednesday. This time, Reimer gives him his cell phone number and wished him luck. A few hours later, Reimer gets a call from Budiman saying he got his iPad 2. The two finally meet at a coffeeshop where Reimer gives him the cash and the two talked for half an hour.

Wish that could happen to you.

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Cult of Mac

iPod Classic not dead: New model is coming

The last time, iPod Classic received any update was back in September 2009. Apple then increased its storage capacity from 120GB to 160GB. Many thought that Apple would upgrade its iPod Classic in the 2010 September music event but that did not happen. In addition, top US retailers said that the device was in short supply and if you purchase from Apple online stores, you will receive your shipment in 1-3 days instead of 24 hours. All these, led many to believe that Apple will stop introducing new models.

But that is not happening. Apple is going to introduce a new model with higher storage capability and for this reason it just tightened its supply. In late January, news of a new iPod Classic came up after Toshiba introduced a new 1.8 in HDD topping 220GB storage capacity.

Last year, a MacRumors reader sent an email to Steve Jobs asking him about the fate of the iPod Classic. Jobs replied that he will not “Kill” the device.

The iPod Classic was launched in 2001 and initially many did not like the device but it changed everything over the next few years and went on to become the new Apple icon. From the iPod, Apple gradually rolled out more smaller, lighter and multi-functional music players like the iPod Nano and iPad Shuffle.

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Guardian

Mac Rumors

Hacked iPad with Smart Cover: Are you interested?

The smart cover of the iPad 2 is really a sleek accessory that would make the first-gen iPad owners quite jealous but Dan Provost came up with an idea that would allow iPad users to use the iPad 2 smart cover.

Before you look into it, there are some things to remember. First, the smart cover would not work the same way it does for the iPad 2. Upon opening the cover, the iPad would not start immediately. Second, you must perform this with a cool head, any mistake on your part will be costly. Third, the iPad would not work in the standing mode that well. Now, it is video time.

Smart Cover for iPad 1 from Studio Neat on Vimeo.

The smart cover is a simple yet elegant solution from Apple. Instead of using any high-tech, the smart cover uses 21 two-pole magnets. These magnets along with another ten magnets located inside the iPad 2 does the magic. There is a round magnet that triggers the built-in sleep sensor so that when you remove the flaps of the smartcover, the iPad 2 wakes up instantly.

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PC World

Apple iPad 2 International launch: Lower price in the U.K.

It is confirmed. Apple is going to release the iPad 2 in the international market on March 25, 2011. The tablet PC will become available in 25 countries. CNET.com reported that aside from these countries, the iPad 2 will be available in Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore and "additional countries" in April 2011.

Sales in the U.K. would not start till 5 pm local time while online sales will start from 1 am G.M.T.

According to Guardian, Apple has chosen the timing to counter the grey market resellers. On the first day of the iPad 2 launch these people bought a large number of devices in the U.S. to resell them in other countries. On the contrary, T3 reported that the U.K launch had been delayed due to supply error.

Guardian also pointed out the fact that the price of the iPad 2 will be lower than that of the first gen iPad in the U.K even after the government introduced higher VAT in January. Thanks to the rise of pounds. Here is a price list of the iPad 2 and iPad in the U.K.

Wi-Fi only iPad 2:

16GB: £399.00 (£332.50 ex 20% VAT)

32GB: £479.00 (£399.17 ex 20% VAT)

64GB: £559.00 (£465.83 ex 20% VAT)

Wi-Fi only iPad:

16GB: £429

32GB: £499

64GB: £599

Wi-Fi and 3G iPad 2:

16GB: £499.00 (£415.83 ex 20% VAT)

32GB: £579.00 (£482.50 ex 20% VAT)

64GB: £659.00 (£549.17 ex 20% VAT)

Wi-Fi and 3G iPad:

16GB: £529

32GB: £599

64GB: £699

The Wi-Fi only iPad 2 will be available for £304.69 this year compared to the first-gen iPad that cost £340.54.

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Guardian

CNET.com

Apple iPad 2 launch in Czech Republic is uncertain

The release of Apple iPad 2 in Czech Republic is now uncertain. Earlier, news came out that Czech Apple Store website was suppose to release Apple iPad 2 on April 25, 2011 but now the date has been deleted and no new date has been posted so far.

This led to a potential iPad 2 shortage speculation. 9 to 5 Mac said that it could be a mistake in translation or legal issue with the device.

However, many are speculating that Japan earthquake affected the international launch of iPad 2 since some of the key components of the iPad 2 are produced in Japan.

On March 2, 2011, when Steve Jobs unveiled Apple iPad 2 in San Francisco, it was said that the new tablet PC will become available in 26 countries from March 25, 2011 including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Ireland, Hungary, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the UK.

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9 to 5 Mac

MacWorld

Flash 10.2 Released: Can Motorola Zoom in the Tablet Market Now?

When Motorola released Xoom in February, Apple was yet to come up with its iPad 2 which finally hit the market on 11 March and instantly turned out to be a huge success with Apple selling 500,000 to 100,000 units of iPad 2 in the first week following the release.

Initially, Xoom was thought to be a potential threat for iPad, but after the raving success of iPad 2 it is clear that Xoom could not have any impact on Apple and its dominance in the tablet PC market.

Apple iPad 2 and Xoom are almost similar as far as hardware features are concerned. To some extent, iPad 2 could have some advantages over Xoom, if you consider its smart cover and highly rich app store featuring various applications for variety of tasks.

Well, there were two areas where Xoom had upper hand and these are Adobe Flash support and SD card slot. Apple does not support flash and so iPad 2 users can not enjoy flash-supported video and animation. Moreover, the company also does not allow its iPad 2 users to enhance the storage of the device as there is no memory card slot available with iPad 2.

Fortunately, Xoom supports Flash and features a SD card slot, but then unfortunately, none of the two have been active so far. Now, Adobe has just released the beta version of Flash 10.2 with a view to facilitating Android users to enjoy high quality video.

For example, Xoom users can now download Flash 10.2 from Android Marketplace and install on their devices featuring Android 2.2, 2.3 and 3.0.

So, it seems that Motorola can now start to exploit the tablet PC market with the recent Flash 10.2 updates. Flash support is very important today because there are many websites that require Flash support to show their video and animation built on Flash.

Overall, Android-based tablets can now make the competition tougher with the likes of iPad 2.

New MacBook Pro having problems accessing iTunes Home Sharing

The newly upgraded MacBook Pro models of Apple are facing trouble with upgraded iTunes Home Sharing features. A support thread in Apple’s Discussion forums received more than 200 complaints regarding this problem.

Users of the new MacBook Pro laptops are saying that they can not stream content from their notebooks to Apple TVs, iPhones and iPads. Apple Insider reports:

"This is turning out to be a bigger problem than I thought with many people giving up and returning their new MBP 2011 due to this conflict. Apple has yet to find a fix but it has been widely documented via phone through AppleCare and through many Apple retail stores," wrote one reader.

According to forum user 'themacbear,' the new MacBook Pro was able to stream to a second-generation Apple TV at first, but then the Apple TV reported being unable to connect or would display the error message "There are no movies in this library."

Apple launched its newly upgraded MacBook Pro models on February 24, 2011. On March 2, 2011, along with iPad 2, Apple released iOS 4.3 with newly improved Home sharing features. Apple also released iTunes 10.2.1 and iTunes 10.2 that are compatible with iOS 4.3.

Aside from the new MacBook Pro users, older MacBook Pro users are also facing this problem.

iPad 2 3G and Wi-Fi version has different audio quality

A report published by iLounge revealed that microphone found in the Wi-Fi only and 3G iPad 2 has a major difference in quality. The report said that microphone of the Wi-Fi only iPad 2 offers better audio quality.

According to iLounge, this quality difference can be contributed to the materials used to build iPad 2 units and their positioning. Padgadget reports:

The difference in audio quality may have to do with the different placement of the microphone on the WiFi and 3G models. On the WiFi version, the microphone is located above the iPad’s front facing camera towards the edge of the aluminum body. The microphone is located in the same spot on the 3G version but due to the slightly redesigned body, it sits in the iPad’s plastic cellular antenna shield. The different materials around the microphone opening, and the fact that the 3G version has additional components located by the microphone, may be to blame for the difference in audio characteristics.

The audio quality in AT&T and Verizon iPad 2 is “slightly muffled and echo-prone” and these flaws are more present in the CDMA version.

People Still Queuing up at the Apple Stores for iPad 2

It has been a week Apple has released its second generation tablet: iPad 2- and Apple has already sold more than 500,000 units of ipad 2 so far. Still, many people are lining up in front of Apple stores looking for iPad 2.

Apple iPad 2 was launched last Friday and stores sold out pretty quickly with many people being disappointed for not being able to buy the device despite waiting for a long time on the queue. Apple is still struggling to meet the required number of demands and you can find the device on the shelves of very few stores. Apple is also receiving online orders, but then users would have to wait for a number of weeks to get the product.

No doubt, Apple has plenty of reasons to be over the moon as it is receiving huge feedback from the customers. Initial success of iPad 2 has even surpassed that of original iPad which revolutionized the tablet market last year. Apple sold around 15 million tablet PCs last year.

Researchers are predicting that Apple would sell around 5.5 million iPad 2s in the first quarter. Overall, it is expected that more than 30 million units of iPad 2 would be sold this year.

It is true that Apple did not face any significant competition last year, but this year, they are going to face a number of competitors like Motorola Xoom, RIM’s PlayBook, HTC Flyer, HP WebOS and some others.

Apple iPad 2 will suffer from Japan earthquake and tsunami

After Japan’s earthquake, price of electronic components in the global market shot up assuming component shortages and things do not look so good as Japan’s Nuclear reactor problem is getting worse.

Apple is one of the major companies suffering from Japan’s earth quake. On March 17, 2011, Andrew Rassweiler of iSuppli published a thorough report which revealed that Apple iPad 2 will be seriously affected by the Japanese earthquake. A teardown analysis of iPad 2 by the firm found out that the device has five major components supplied from Japan- NAND flash memory from Toshiba Corp., DRAM from Elpida Memory Inc., electronic compass from AKM Semiconductor, touchscreen overlay glass Asahi Glass Co. and system battery from Apple Japan Inc.

Rassweiler said that Apple can acquire its NAND and DRAM from Samsung and Micron. He also said that finding alternatives for the battery, compass and glasses will not be so easy.

Hon Hai, the Taiwanese electronics giant, that assembles Apple iPads for China, said that it has ample supply of parts in hand. This announcement resulted into surge in the company’s stock price.

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Fortune

Motorola Xoom vs. iPad vs. iPad2: Site load speed test

CNET conducted simple site load speed test and 3D game display test on Apple iPad, iPad 2 and Xoom.

The results shown here is not consistent. It may vary from place and to place and there can be various interferences. These tests were taken in a closed network where the router was placed five feet away from the devices. CNET chose three sites for the test- CNET.com, CBSNews.com and Giant Bomb.com. The site loading test for each tablet has been conducted more than once and before starting each test, the browser cache had been cleared.

Here is the first video clip showing the site loading and 3D display test between Apple iPad and Motorola Xoom:

Here is the video of the site loading test between Motorola Xoom and iPad 2:

The result shows that despite having a larger and more powerful display than the iPad and iPad 2, Xoom does not get any major advantage. On the other hand, Xoom has a very good site-loading speed compared to the iPad and iPad 2. So, which one you are going to buy? Motorola Xoom or Apple iPad 2.

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CNET.com

Earthquake Delayed the Release of Apple iPad 2 in Japan

Apple has been enjoying enormous success with its iPad 2 tablet PC. The second generation iPad has even surpassed the success rate of Apple’s original iPad released last year. After its raving success in America, iPad 2 is now on its way to win the international markets too. It has already arrived in Europe and some other countries and Apple is receiving good feedback from international market too.

However, Apple has now postponed iPad 2’s scheduled release in Japan which is one of the biggest Asian markets. Japan has just suffered a devastating earthquake and tsunami causing the loss of many lives and huge destruction of wealth. This has led to cut in the supply of Apple’s Flash memory chips used in iPad. The matter is that Japan is the 40% supplier of the company’s Flash memory chips and following the natural disaster the supply line has been disrupted significantly.

That is why, Apple has rescheduled the iPad 2 launch in Japan and it is now expected that iPad 2 will be available in the stores of Japan by 25 March. However, the company would face serious problem to continue its iPad 2 production, if the supply of flash memory chips from Japan does not begin soon.

Most Useful iPad 2 Tablet Tips and Tricks from PC World

If you have just bought an iPad Tablet and you are at a loss about it then you are lucky that PC World has put this: 28 iPad 2 Tips and Tricks

The tips and tricks are pretty basic and you do not need to be a tech savy person to understand and implement them. I am pretty sure that many of the users are unaware of the tips mentioned there.

I have been browsing some for iPad 2 tips and I have to say that PC World has done very well in this regard. The tablet has become very successful and one million got sold in the first 3 days. 

Questions RIM Must Answer with Its PlayBook to Compete with iPad 2

Research In Motion (RIM) is going to release its first tablet PC, PlayBook, very soon and there are lots of expectations around it. There are many who are waiting for a viable competitor for Apple iPad which is continuously getting stronger. Last year, Samsung tried to cut iPad’s popularity, then this year Motorola Xoom pursued the same; but neither of them became successful.

RIM is well-known for its BlackBerry phones, specialized on unique security over data transfer. It is very popular among the corporate or enterprise users who require additional security. However, RIM saw a slump in its share in the smartphone market since the launch of iPhone from Apple in 2007.

Now, RIM has to compete with Apple in the tablet PC market where Steve Jobs has already made a strong platform for Apple products. Here are few questions RIM has to answer with its PlayBook:

First of all, as RIM is coming up with a tablet PC, many believe the Canada-based company would still keep its focus on security aiming at the corporate users. Well, there are some risks associated with it.

The existing big players of tablet PC market such as iPad 2, Xoom are providing the corporate users with satisfactory level of security and it seems RIM’s expertise on date security may not help in the tablet market. For example, SAP, a business software company, has bought 3,500 units of iPads.

Well, you may argue that RIM’s internal security based on code encryption could ensure better security for the enterprise users compared to others like Apple or Motorola. Point taken, but then how much security an enterprise user requires and to what extent RIM’s security is necessary.

There are rumors that users may discard RIM’s extensive security because most of the users do not need that much of security. In fact, competing companies are now also working on encryption to reduce RIM’s advantage in the market.

Moreover, RIM has to catch up on the hardware features of tablet PC giant iPad or iPad 2, if they are to sustain in the tablet PC market successfully. Screen, graphics, camera, RAM, processor, storage, Wi-Fi and 3G support, and some others are the features people do not generally want to compromise with. In fact, Apple and Motorola have already set the standard very high which RIM PlayBook must meet to stand a change initially.

Next comes application or software. No doubt, this is perhaps the strongest side of Apple iPad thanks to its very rich app store. Here, Android even could not come close to Apple. The good thing is that RIM has finally understood the necessity of delivering quality apps to create better user experience and recently taken some initiative to attract the app developers to join RIM and start developing apps. For example, RIM has dropped the entrance fee for the application developers.

The problem, however, is that for creating more quality apps, RIM coders must not write complex codes, and if needed they have to compromise with security, at least to some extent. Otherwise, developers would find it difficult to rewrite the codes to make attractive applications, and thus, failing to add value to customers.

Overall, RIM PlayBook has to offer something which its competitors like iPad 2 and Xoom are missing to ensure a sustainable business in the tablet PC market.

Apple iPad 2: Backlight Leakage on LCD Display Reported

After the raving success of Apple’s iPad 2 during the first few days of its release, a YouTube video has come out indicating a defect on the device’s LCD display. The video shows backlight leakage on few spots at the bottom edge of the 9.7-inch display.

You can see the video here:

If you closely look at the video then you can see the backlight leakage happens when there are dark colors like blacks are shown on the screen. However, Apple has not revealed anything officially on this regard.

The video was uploaded from the YouTube channel named ‘iamphones’, and it is understood that the person uploaded the video has just bought the iPad 2 and encountered with the problem.

The interesting thing is that iPad 2’s display has so far been praised a lot and its graphics is very good too. Well, still you can not just conclude on the performance of iPad 2 LCD display on the basis of just one complaint. When you are shelling out hundreds of thousands of electronics devices, it is natural that a few devices may have some problems.

What Apple should do here is that it should look into the matter and provide the person with a replacement.

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Mobileburn

Apple iPad 2 online order delivery timeline pushed to 4-5 weeks

Even after long lines around the stores in the weekend, the demand of the iPad 2 has not died down. On the first day, many people standing in lines could not get their favorite tablet PCs. On Saturdays stores ran out of iPad 2.

To avoid all the hassle, many people ordered the tablet PC online but they would have to wait for 4-5 weeks according to Apple’s newly introduced time limit.

The iPad 2 had been launched on March 11, 2011. Apple started taking orders online from 1 a.m. PT on that day. Initially, Apple said that delivery would take only days but Apple then pushed the delivery to 2-3 weeks. The latest delay applies to all models of iPad 2 including Wi-Fi and 3G models from AT&T and Verizon.

Last year, when the first-gen iPad was launched it was available via 221 Apple stores and 1100 other outlets. This year, the iPad 2 was made available in 10,000 stores and 236 Apple outlets. On the first day, there were long lines in many stores and they sold out almost all iPad 2 units in the first day.

Apple Bitch reported that on March 15, 2011, many stores would receive new stocks and would open up an hour early. So, if you are planning to get your hands on the iPad 2, check out your local store.

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Apple Insider

Apple iPad 2 : Expensive processor but lower production cost

In a teardown analysis, conducted by UBM TechInsights, revealed that the new A5 processor, used in iPad 2, has a production cost of $25, making it more expensive than $15 Tegra 2 processor found in Motorola Xoom. Yet, the BOM of the 32GB iPad 2 stands at $270 against 32GB Xoom’s $288.

The new A5 processor, produced by Samsung, comes with 46 nm Low Power DDR2 memory and uses variable clock speed. UBM TechInsights performed two teardown analysis at two locations- Austin and Ottawa and found out that the iPad 2 uses LPDDR2 RAM of Samsung and Elpida. The LP DDR2 RAM from Samsung is the first one to use the Samsung K4P2G324EC LPDDR2 die.

In terms of size, the A5 processor is larger (12.1mmx10.1mm) than A4 processor (7.3mmx7.3mm).

So, how is it possible to keep the iPad 2 lower priced? UBM Engineer and Technical Marketing Manager, Allan Yogasingam, said that Apple orders large volume of chips which brings the cost down significantly and the A5 will be found in most of the

next-gen Apple products including the iPhone 5 and iPod Touch.

The teardown analysis also revealed that the new iPad 2 comes with 512MB memory which is higher compared to the 256MB memory of the first-gen iPad.

iFixit tear down analysis also revealed that the iPad 2 uses a Toshiba TH58NVG7D2FLA89 16GB NAND Flash memory module. Other chips found in the device are- Broadcom BCM43291HKUBC Wi-Fi/Bluetooth/FM tuner combo chip, ST Micro AGD8 2103 gyroscope, ST Micro LIS331DLH accelerometer, and Broadcom BCM5974 CKFBGH capacitive touch-screen controller.

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Apple iPad 2 first day sales: Stores sold out their inventories in just few hours

Apple iPad 2 sales started on March 11, 2011 and it has been a resounding success. Many stores saw their iPad 2 inventories being emptied in just matter of two hours. There were long lines in front of many stores and many could not get the device they had been looking for.

In San Francisco, Best Buy sold out its iPad 2 stock in just two hours. Apple Union Street store had long lines stretching around four sides of the block. It sold out all the Wi-Fi only iPad 2s while the remaining stock contained the black colored 32GB and 64GB 3G iPad 2s from Verizon and AT&T. The store planned to remain open through mid-night. Apple staffs were also prepared to maintain the line. They continuously updated customers about the latest condition of the stock.

The Apple retail outlet at the Fifth Avenue of New York city ran out of all but the 64GB Verizon 3G iPad 2s at 11 p.m. When the staffs informed the people majority of them walked away. The staffs guessed that these people were actually gray market sellers who were looking for the GSM iPad 2 to send to other countries.

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Apple Insider

CNN Money.com