The third version of Apple's iPad was available at 8 a.m. local time in the U.S. and Canada, and fans lined up for hours to be one of the first to own the new device. Even Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak waited in line - in fact, he was first in line in Century City.
"It's a special event. Apple makes special products. There's a lot of ways you could say, 'I'll wait for a DVD, but the movie, I want to go on opening day!'" Wozniak said.
Wozniak and his young partner Steve Jobs founded Apple in a garage. Now their company is worth more than ever.
"We're going to be doing a lot less thinking in the future. The computer is going to think for us. They're going to get much better at thinking than we are," Wozniak said.
The new iPad has a much clearer display. The resolution is 2048 x 1536 or 3.1 million pixels, which is a million more pixels than the standard HDTV. It is slightly thicker and heavier: 9.4 millimeters thick and 1.4 pounds. It also has a 5-mexapixel camera, full HD recording, voice dictation and a 10-hour battery life.
The new iPad also went on sale Friday in the U.K., France, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, Germany and Switzerland. The gadget will be available in 25 other countries next week.
For some customers, standing in line will be the only chance for them to get a new iPad on the first day it comes out. Apple said iPads that were set aside for pre-orders sold out in just five days. The company told customers to expect a two- to three-week wait for orders placed on its online stores.
But not everyone was excited about Apple's latest product. Protesters gathered outside Apple stores in New York, Washington, D.C. and San Francisco to push for better working conditions at some of the factories in China, where the iPads are made.
