Houstonians line up for the new iPad

By on March 15, 2012 at 9:53 PM

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[Note: We’ll be using Twitter and other social media to help track lines at Apple Stores for Friday’s launch of the new iPad. Check back frequently for updates, and if you’re in line and want to let us know what’s going on, post to Twitter using the #houpad hashtag. We’ll feature your updates and photos here. –D.S.]

9:01 a.m. – And one more.

8:56 a.m. – Not everyone at the Highland Village Apple Store was there for an iPad. Theo Vora of Houston pre-ordered his and expects to get it this afternoon via Fedex, but he told our Carol Christian that he wanted to come see the new store. It’s his third Houston-area Apple Store opening, and this one was different.

“If you were standing in the middle of the room when they opened the door, I can’t describe the decibel level,” he said. “It was so intense, like being at a concert. It felt emotional. “In this age of online retail, there is something to be said for coming in person.”

8:38 a.m. – More from the lines.

8:29 a.m. – Carol Christian talked to Vickas Dangayach, a 29-year-old medical resident at Baylor College of Medicine. He’s got more serious intentions for the iPad he waited in line for since 4 a.m. today.

“It’s very useful in the medical profession,” Dangayach said. “We can use it for day-to-day activities in the hospital. Looking up patient records and things like that.”

8:16 a.m. – Our photographer Johnny Hanson has video of the Highland Village Apple Store’s opening of its doors for the first time.

8:14 a.m. – Folks are getting their hands on their iPads.

8:10 a.m. – Carol’s in!

8:07 a.m. – Not to rub it in or anything, but some of us choose not to wait in line . . .

outfordelivery

The three sweetest words in a geek’s life: “Out for delivery.”

8:05 a.m. – Our Carol Christian says the doors have opened at Highland Village’s new store.

8:02 a.m. – Doors should be opening now at Apple Stores in the area. More tweets from the lines (and from some places where there are none):

7:52 a.m. – Reports are coming in from some other stores in Houston-area malls.

At the Sugar Land store (First Colony Mall), there are about 100 in line, based on this tweet in response to one of mine earlier.

7:45 a.m. – The Highland Village Apple Store is next door to a Sprinkles cupcake store, which opened its doors at 7 a.m. today. Chronicle reporter Carol Christian got a shot of a Sprinkles employee handing out cupcakes to those waiting in line for an iPad.

Christian talked to Vera Eisterhold, who drove her 16-year-old son Daniel down to the Highland Village store for a new iPad. She wasn’t thrilled.

“Ask me how I much I want to be here,” Eisterhold said, indicating her son didn’t yet have a driver’s license. She said the family already has an original iPad and Daniel wanted an upgrade.

“I thought the one we had was fine,” she said.

7:40 a.m. – And apparently we’ve got a pretty big line at Baybrook Mall’s Apple Store.

7:22 a.m. – Chronicle reporter Carol Christian is at the Highland Village Apple Store, where she estimates there are about 200 people are in line. She said they’ll soon separate out the folks who are just there to see the new store from those who want to buy an iPad.

She talked to Joe Tate Jr. of Houston, who’s buying an iPad for his 12-year-old daughter.

“I’ve never been in a line waiting for any of these types of things before,” Tate told Christian. A woman behind him asked, “Not even for a football game or concert tickets?”

“Nope,” he said.

7:03 a.m. – More from the Galleria, where they’re organized. They’ve done this before . . .

There are about 60 in line at the Galleria, according to Rodolfo Santoyo.

6:52 a.m. – Looks like we have a line at the Galleria.

And the line reportedly just keeps growing at the Highland Village location. The lure of a brand-new store (and free t-shirts for the first 1,000 to enter) is strong.

6:21 a.m. Friday – The line at the Highland Village Store has grown considerably overnight. One person in line says via Twitter that there are 100 people there this morning.

So far, I haven’t seen reports from other Apple Stores, but some smart folks took advantage of the fact that some Wal-marts started selling iPads at midnight.

9:33 p.m. Thursday – It has begun.

At the Highland Village Apple Store, which will open its doors at 8 a.m. Friday for the first time, Kris Green was first in line. The photographer/videographer and instructor at Lone Star College may live in The Woodlands, but he chose the Highland Village Store as the place he’ll wait overnight to pick up an iPad.

“This is the spot, the place to be,” he told me. “Hey, it’s the new store. I wanna be the first through the door and have all the staff clapping for me.”

Green arrived about 7:30 p.m. Thursday with three other friends who planned to spend the night with him, but he’s the only one who will be buying an iPad. He said he’s “going all in” and will get the 64-gigabyte model with 4G LTE connectivity. He’ll be spending $829 for the privilege.

Green said he hoped to stream his overnight adventure via the TexasTechReview channel on Justin.tv.

Three other people were also in line – Wen Bu, his son William and Tri Nguyen. They’d been there since about 8 p.m. Nguyen brought a tent, but he said he was not allowed to set it up. He’d spread out a sleeping bag on the sidewalk.

Apple Store personnel told those waiting in line to queue toward the back of the store. Green said he was told iPad buyers will be let in there at 8 a.m., while customers who want to buy other products will use the front door on Westheimer.

Outside the store, workers were still putting finishing touches on the building. Its glass front and back were remained covered.

And based on this tweet, it looks like more folks are on the way.