Black market gangs join the iPad stampede to ship tablets to India (as enterprising teen, 16, jumps back 14 spots for £300)
They came in their droves and queued outside Apple stores all over the world. From Tokyo to Sydney, London to New York, thousands waited for hours – sometimes days – to get their hands on the third incarnation of the iPad. Some who didn’t like the idea of sleeping on a cold pavement paid as much as £300 to jump the queue. Scroll down to see video of Apple fans , Black market gangs in London paid people to join the queue and buy the new tablets so they could then be sold on at a profit. The frenzy – reminiscent of the scenes which greeted the launch of its predecessor this time last year – is all the more surprising given that the latest iPad represents only an evolution of previous designs rather than a revolution. Its key selling point is a so-called ‘retina display’, with a high-definition touchscreen boasting 3.1million pixels – more than an HD television. The new model, which costs from £399 to £659 in the UK, also comes with an improved camera and a faster processor, making it attractive to those who use it to play games. Noah Green, a 16-year-old student from Stanmore, North-West London, had been fourth in the queue at Apple’s flagship store in Regent Street, London, but said someone had paid him £300 to move back. Before going through the door, he said: ‘It is worth it. I am still 18th in the queue so I will be one of the first to buy an iPad. I am going to sell it though and earn some money.’ Many appeared to have been paid £10 or £20 to wait in line for hours on behalf of a third party. Some buyers had their hands full of shopping bags filled with products. One was even pictured wheeling items out on a trolley.At Westfield shopping centre, in Shepherd’s Bush, West London, a number of buyers were seen handing purchases – still in their shrink-wrapped boxes – to a waiting group of Eastern European men. What the reviews say Every reviewer has raved about the iPad's screen, packing a huge 3.1 million pixels. Tech site The Verge said: 'Yes, this display is outrageous. It's stunning. It's incredible. I'm not being hyperbolic or exaggerative when I say it is easily the most beautiful computer display I have ever looked at. Walt Mossberg, of AllThingsDigital, said: 'It has the most spectacular display I have ever seen in a mobile device.' Macworld said: 'You’re left with the same sort of typographic excellence you’d expect in a printed book. 'It has the most spectacular display I have ever seen in a mobile device.' Slashgear said: 'Steve Jobs would have approved of the new iPad. 'With its focus on the holistic experience rather than individual boasts around its constituent parts, it’s the epitome of the Post-PC world the Apple founder envisaged.' Tech Crunch said: 'Once you see and use the new iPad, there will be no going back.' One said: ‘We’re just buying and selling, we’re not doing anything illegal. We bought them and we sold them.’ At Covent Garden, men were seen handing over money, collecting receipts and organising scores of people queuing.One agent, who gave his name as Martin, said: ‘I hope to get around 70 iPads today. I will be sending them on to India.’ The new iPad will not be on sale officially in India for at least another week.Stores were given only a limited supply of the new device and many had sold out by mid-afternoon. This allowed buyers who did manage to get one the opportunity to make a quick profit by selling them via eBay. Sellers on the auction website were offering the 16GB version, which connects to the web via wifi, for as much as £562.79 – a mark-up of £163.79, or 41 per cent, on the official price of £399. The scenes were repeated around the world. In Paris, one customer, Athena May, said: ‘I don’t think it’s worth the price but I guess I’m a victim of society.’ Shares in Apple punched through the $600 barrier – a new record – briefly on Thursday pushing the value of the technology giant to $560billion (£354billion) and confirming it as the world’s most valuable company.
بعد طول إنتظار ... " أي باد الجديد " في الأســــــواق
آبل تبيع ثلاثة ملايين جهاز آيباد جديد
الشركة قالت إنه "أقوى إطلاق لجهاز آيباد حتى الآن"
أعلنت آبل أنها باعت ما يصل إلى ثلاثة ملايين وحدة من جهاز الآيباد الجديد الذي أعلنت عنه في السابع من مارس، وهو ما قالت الشركة بأنه "أقوى إطلاق لجهاز آيباد حتى الآن". وقال "فيليب شيلر" نائب رئيس الشركة بأن المستخدمين أحبوا الميزات التي يقدمها الجهاز بما في ذلك شاشة "ريتينا" عالية الدقة. ويتوفر الآيباد الجديد حالياً- حسب ما نشرت البوابة العربية للأخبار التقنية- في كل من الولايات المتحدة وأستراليا وكندا وفرنسا وألمانيا وهونج كونج واليابان وسنغافورة وبريطانيا وبورتو ريكو. وأكدت الشركة بأنه سيتوفر في 24 دولة أخرى حول العالم بدءاً من الثالث والعشرين من مارس الجاري. ويحمل الجهاز الجديد معالجاً ثنائي النواة من نوع A5X مع وحدة معالجة رسومية رباعية النواة، وكاميرا بدقة 5 ميغابيكسل ويتوفر بنسختي "واي فاي" فقط و "فور جي" ويقدم 10 ساعات من عمر البطارية، ويتراوح سعره ما بين 499 إلى 829 دولار، وفقاً لنوع الاتصال والسعة التخزينية المتوفرة.
