GEN 3 RUSH: Apple fans queue up from as early as 9pm the previous day to get the latest device
KUALA LUMPUR: AS with all other versions of the device, local fans of Apple products began queuing up the previous night just so they could get hold of the new iPad when it was launched in Malaysia yesterday.
Some came as early as 9pm on Thursday and waited the night out, sitting and sleeping outside Apple retail stores nationwide.
Apple retailer Machines assistant store manager Gideon Ng said the store had opened early yesterday to serve the hundreds or so customers queuing outside.
"There is always a huge response whenever Apple launches its new products, so we were prepared this year. We didn't want the long queue to be a hindrance to the shops nearby," he said at the store in the Mid Valley shopping centre.
The customers in the queue were given a number each and were let in the store by batches of 10 beginning 10am.
The first proud owners of the new iPad, couple Hairul Nizam and Sharifah Nadia Maria, said the first thing they wanted to do after getting their devices was to have breakfast.
"We are so excited... we haven't had our breakfast yet, but its okay, we got our iPad.
"We are the biggest fans of Apple products. We have a Macbook Pro, iPhone 4 and waiting for the launch of iPhone 5 now," grinned Hairul, 36, an automotive administrative officer.
Sharifah Nadia, 31, an IT programmer, said she was attracted to the new iPad as it featured retina technology, which makes the screen resolution much better than the previous one.
"The processor is also better, and it is the best tablet in the market now. It is definitely worth it," said Sharifah, who had bought it for RM2,499.
Some iPad fans could not wait for the launch in Malaysia and purchased the gadget in Singapore.
Rathakrishna Ravi Sangaran, a student of Universiti Sains Malaysia, wanted to be among the first Malaysians to own the sought-after new iPad.
"I wanted to get it as soon as they launched it in Singapore, I couldn't wait for it to be launched here.
"As soon as I went back to my hometown in Johor for the semester holidays, I went to Singapore with my parents on April 6 to buy it," said the 24-year-old English Language Studies student.
Fans buying the new iPad at the Machines outlet at KLCC in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. Pic by Sairien Nafis
Fanatic fans of the new iPad started to queue up from 9pm on Thursday and slept on the floor outside the Apple retail outlet Machines at Midvalley Megamall, Kuala Lumpur. Pic by Chan Wai Yew
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