So it’s my wife’s birthday next month, and I had made up my mind to try to get an iPad 2 for her, since I knew she really wanted one to replace her aging iBook. The thing is, it launched in the US to incredible demand, and that only increased the frenzy here in Canada when it was released last Friday. Knowing that I wasn’t able to wait in line all day, I settled for the next best thing, ordering online.
At 4AM my time, I woke up and got online, ready to order the new iPad from Apple’s store as soon as it became available. Boom, done. The wait time would be 2-3 weeks (still incredible that it was that long on launch day!). I went back to sleep.
In the morning, I got an email from Apple confirming my order, and it gave me the estimated delivery date. Even though it would ship before my wife’s birthday, it might not be delivered until the Friday before, which happens to be Good Friday, which happens to be a holiday, which means it wouldn’t arrive till after the weekend and AFTER her birthday.
I thought about this. Not an ideal situation. So being the schemer that I am, I started looking around for options.
Hmm, should I buy a spot in line for $150? Go line up at Future Shop or somewhere less high profile than the Apple Store? At launch time (5:00PM) I started looking at twitter, curious to see how long the lines were at the Eaton’s Centre, Fairview, Yorkdale, Sherway, and Square One. It’s pretty incredible that there are 5 Apple Stores in the Greater Toronto Area (and Mississauga). Pictures and reports coming back on twitter said the lines were long. Extremely long. 300+ people long.
On a whim I checked the local independent Mac store near me. All the iPad 2′s were spoken for, customers had pre-ordered and there weren’t any more.
Until I saw this tweet:
As it turns out, they would have more stock available for walk in purchase only, Saturday morning at 10AM.
So I took my chances.
Saturday morning we needed to go grocery shopping, so I offered to drop her off while I drove the kids around. Maybe we’d go down to the lake front, or something. I was vague.
As soon as I dropped her off I let the kids in on my plan. We would go to Carbon Computing which was nearby, line up for a bit until 10, and see if we could get an iPad 2 for mommy’s birthday.
When I pulled up to the store there were two people ahead of me, and half an hour until opening time. The manager was kind enough to let us all wait inside, out of the freezing cold. Being number three, I was worried that the two ahead of me might want the same model as I did, the 16GB Black Wi-Fi. Lucky for me, they both wanted White 32GB. Yes!
Less than 10 minutes after opening, I walked out with an iPad 2.
Total wait time? 40 minutes.
Great story – so is she loving it?
Yep, totally. It’s so thin. On Sunday I had a chance to compare it to an original iPad side by side. It’s not a lot lighter, but it holds in your hand like it’s way lighter.
Haven’t had a lot of time with it, still getting the apps and other stuff setup.
I’ve never really had anything this close to launch before, it’s kind of a weird feeling.
Well played!
I saw this tweet, walked into CSC around noon, walked out with an iPad 2 ten minutes later. Now the trick is to find a screen and back protector!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chuckkahn/5562077907/
It’s awesome. Twitter sure is helpful sometimes for finding stuff.
Let me know what you find to protect the back, I’m looking for something like that too.
I called the number on this ad:
http://toronto.lowprice.ca/ipad2_screen_portector_toronto_markham_15_dp7r
But they only have screen protectors — back protectors are being shipped in 2 weeks.
Not sure if it’s worth it just getting the screen protected.
Is there a list of mall kiosks that do this kind of thing? (I always end up with bubbles on the screen when I try to do it.)
I have left the screen on my iPhone without a protector and it seems to be fine. I keep it in my pocket and there aren’t any scratches. I would rather get a case that protects the back and front, which I why we went with the dodocase.
The bubbles are always a problem, you have to be very meticulous. It can be a hassle.