Chattanooga residents now have Apple's latest gadget at their fingertips.
Customers at Best Buy on Gunbarrel Road gathered just before the store opened Saturday to get the first look at the iPad. Apple is lauding the device as "magical and revolutionary," but many who came to buy it said they consider it an extension of the iPod.
"It's funny because people who don't have iPhones or iPods will look at this and go, 'I don't really get it,'" said Jody Bankston, a 43-year-old IT professional from Chattanooga. "But boy, if you have an iPhone or an iPod, you really get it. It's like, I want this -- but bigger."
Mr. Bankston planned to drive to Atlanta to pick up the gadget, which he had reserved at a store there, but on a whim decided to see if Best Buy was getting a shipment. Just 15 minutes before the store opened, a UPS truck arrived, stocked with nearly 100 iPads of varying storage capacity, said Zach Turner, mobile manager at Best Buy.
The store is carrying three Wi-Fi versions of the iPad -- a 16 gigabite, 32 gigabite and 64 gigabite, Mr. Turner said. The 3G version, with data plans available through AT&T, will be available in the store in about 30 days, he said.
"Right now the differences are just size and speed," he said. "Other than that, they're no different."
Veronica Dunson, a 49-year-old Chattanooga resident, said since she saw the first commercial for the device, she knew she had to have it. She has an iTouch, but is still new to Apple products and bought the iPad for everyday Internet use.
"I like the iPod, and this is just a bigger version instead of that little bitty handheld," she said. "And I wanted to try the bigger version."
Still, some are skeptical and unwilling to shell out $500 to $800 for the device. Alex Faulkenberry, 17, said he loves his iPhone and Macbook, but he can't justify spending that much money for the iPad.
"If they drop it down to a reasonable price, maybe," he said. "I would say around $450, that would be a good price."
By the time the store was open for an hour Saturday, there were already between 40 and 50 tickets handed out for the iPads, Mr. Turner said. He anticipates the store will sell all of its initial stock quickly, but he said another shipment is expected in one to two weeks.
Compared with launches of other big-ticket items, such as gaming systems, the atmosphere was more relaxed, he said.
"Everybody was pretty civil, which was awesome, because sometimes people can be crazy," Mr. Turner said.
APPLE IPAD
* Weighs 1.5 to 1.6 pounds.
* Multi-touch screen is 7.47 wide and 9.56 inches tall.
* Comes in three memory sizes: 16 gigabite, 32 gigabite and 64 gigabite.
* Wi-Fi version available now, and the 3G version with AT&T data plan will be available in about 30 days.
Source: Apple.
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