JAPAN: Hundreds queue in front of Apple Store in Tokyo to buy new iPad

Record ID: 466145

  • Title: JAPAN: Hundreds queue in front of Apple Store in Tokyo to buy new iPad
  • Date: 17th March 2012
  • Summary: TOKYO, JAPAN (MARCH 16, 2012) (REUTERS) CUSTOMER WAITING IN QUEUE OUTSIDE STORE HOLDING IPAD 2 WITH COUNTDOWN TO LAUNCH OF 'NEW IPAD' SCREEN ON IPAD 2 SHOWING COUNTDOWN APPLE LOGO ON EXTERIOR OF GINZA STORE PEOPLE QUEUING OUTSIDE OF STORE (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) KENTO INOUE, 20-YEAR-OLD UNIVERSITY STUDENT, SAYING: "Apple keeps on releasing really great products, so I want to get the newest one, the latest model." VARIOUS OF CUSTOMERS QUEUING (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) RYO TAKAHASHI, 25-YEAR-OLD COMPANY EMPLOYEE, SAYING: "I really wanted to celebrate the release of the New iPad. So I thought the best way to express that was as a samurai. I'm an iPad Samurai." TAKAHASHI QUEUING FOR IPAD RELEASE MORE OF TAKAHASHI IN SAMURAI OUTFIT STANDING IN QUEUE APPLE EMPLOYEES COUNTING DOWN IN JAPANESE IN FRONT OF APPLE STORE IN GINZA APPLE EMPLOYEE CLAPPING APPLE EMPLOYEES WELCOMING CUSTOMERS FOR 'NEW IPAD' LAUNCH CUSTOMERS ENTERING APPLE STORE MORE OF APPLE EMPLOYEES WELCOMING CUSTOMERS APPLE EMPLOYEES SELLING IPADS TO CUSTOMERS (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) SHINTARO AIZAWA, 16-YEAR-OLD HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT WHO WAITED FOR 15 HOURS IN THE QUEUE FOR THE NEW IPAD RELEASE, SAYING: "After this, well, I'll first of all open it up and check it's as beautiful as I thought. Then I'll get some sleep." IPAD ON DISPLAY MORE OF EMPLOYEE WELCOMING CUSTOMERS IPADS ON DISPLAY IN STORE WINDOW
  • Embargoed: 1st April 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Japan, Japan
  • Country: Japan
  • Topics: Business,Industry,Technology
  • Reuters ID: LVA5JRFOTLX7BFRD72TZ7UYJSDZ5
  • Story Text: Hundreds of die hard Apple fans flocked to the the launch of the new iPad in Tokyo on Friday (March 16), some braving the cold for days.
    "Apple keeps on releasing really great products, so I want to get the newest one, the latest model," said 20-year-old Kento Inoue, a university student who said he started queuing on Wednesday (March 14) evening.
    "I really wanted to celebrate the release of the New iPad. So I thought the best way to express that was as a samurai. I'm an iPad Samurai," Apple fan Ryo Takahashi told Reuters in an iPad-themed samurai costume.
    When doors opened at 8:00 a.m. (2300 GMT) 450 people were waiting to get their hands on the latest iPad release, organisers said.
    Apple hopes the device, which comes 4G-ready and boasts a quad-core graphics processor, is capable enough to help safeguard its two-thirds market share.
    The new iPad also comes with a higher-definition "retina display" screen -- containing several times as many pixels within the same area -- and a better camera.
    But after queuing through the night, sleep was catching up with one new iPad owner.
    "After this, well, I'll first of all open it up and check it's as beautiful as I thought. Then I'll get some sleep," 16-year-old high school student Shintaro Aizawa said.
    The high-end model of Apple's latest iPad will be capable of operating on high-speed 4G LTE networks at speeds roughly 10 times faster than current 3G technology, although the service is currently not offered by Japanese networks.
    Updated versions of the WiFi only models are sold in Japan from 42,800 yen ($511), with prices rising to 58,800 yen ($703) for a version with 64GB of storage.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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