The iPad has arrived and its owners are getting their greasy fingerprints all over the sleek display. Or they are showing off their wares—see this recently Tweeted video of someone outside the SoHo Apple Store. We hear that the lines at the Upper West Side and 14th Street moved along; the 14th Street store's lines were "depleted" by 11 a.m., which really does suggest that waiting basically two days in advance of the iPad launch is something for real, hardcore fans who have the time.
Engadget has an "unboxing" video, Gizmodo has a running review and The Unofficial Apple Weblog has a report from the 5th Avenue store, behind the scenes, "Yes, the retail staff didn't get to touch iPads until this morning, so for the first couple of hours they will be catching up" and "Yes, they are carrying small blue chamois cloths to polish fingerprints off of the display units. Frequently."
The Twitter universe is, naturally, gabbing about the device— reneritchie: "IPad keyboard much better and faster than I expected. But the sucker is heavy. No wonder they always show it on laps"; danwarne: "Kid dressed up as an ipad just walked past at san francisco apple store #ipad"; AMCAC09: "If you're in #NYC, check best buy on W.23rd & 6th Ave. there's plenty of #iPad w/out waiting queue. #Apple cc: @NYPlaces" Incidentally, an Apple salesperson at the UWS store told us the same thing—that Best Buy might be a good place to get an iPad (but keep in mind that Best Buy's quantity is limited.)
