INSIDE MOBILE: Becoming Part of the Apple iPad Generation

I felt that I simply had to be a part of the iPad Generation and get an iPad on Saturday morning, April 3, 2010. I just loved the Modern Family episode last week that had Phil wanting to get an iPad for his birthday, Claire falling asleep on the sofa past the opening of the Apple Store, and then Phil's son Luke coming to the rescue claiming his father was dying online and that his last wish was to hold an iPad. That was one of the best product placements of all time.

Then there were the news stories of people getting in line on Friday morning in Los Angeles and New York. I knew that the iPad was going to be an important new mobile computing paradigm, and on Friday I felt that it would great to be part of the experience. I told my wife Alicia that I was going to get up at 5:30a.m. and go get in line at the Wellington Mall where we spend the winters near Palm Beach.

I got there at 5:58a.m. I was number six in line. The first two were teenagers from Long Island who were visiting the Palm Beach area on spring break. They had arrived at 4:40a.m. Number three was a software developer. Number four was a pregnant mother who had offered to get up early and get an iPad for her husband as a birthday gift. Number five was a mother and son from Munich, Germany. They were visiting family who live in the area.

By 7:00a.m, the mall security guard opened the doors. The line had grown to around 15 people. They had already cordoned off the area in front of the store in two lines: one for those who had reserved and prepaid and one for those who had not. According to the mall's security, the shipment of the store's iPads had arrived via UPS around 1:30a.m. The store personnel arrived at 6:00a.m. to unpack the boxes and set up the displays in the store. The store personnel had put up a black curtain to block their store's displays. There was definitely an aura of it being a very special event.

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