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solofx7 · Mar 24, 2010, 12:35 PM

Does anyone have any idea when the best buy's will get the iPad?
My local best buy has a Apple section, and I heard on a podcast that they will be in best buys too.
Thoughts?

solofx7 · Mar 25, 2010, 12:07 AM

thoughts comments concerns?

mdc · Mar 25, 2010, 07:58 AM

AppleInsider | Steve Jobs e-mail suggests AT&T will not sell Apple iPad initially

"Initially at Apple Retail and online stores and Best Buy," Jobs replied via e-mail.

-Q- · Mar 25, 2010, 11:28 AM

I guess it'll all depend on how constrained the initial supply is. Apple typically ships most of the inventory to their own retail outlets first. But if orders aren't as high as they anticipated, that may mean they're available at the BB at launch. I'd say ask one of the blue shirts at Best Buy but we all know how reliable they are for info.

solofx7 · Mar 25, 2010, 07:34 PM

Originally Posted by -Q-

I guess it'll all depend on how constrained the initial supply is. Apple typically ships most of the inventory to their own retail outlets first. But if orders aren't as high as they anticipated, that may mean they're available at the BB at launch. I'd say ask one of the blue shirts at Best Buy but we all know how reliable they are for info.

Great, they will tell me it is avail right now

-Q- · Mar 26, 2010, 02:36 PM

This info may help:

Best Buy to carry iPad on April 3 at ASC-stores only

The important bit:

MacRumors is reporting that Best Buy will be carrying the WiFi iPad at launch on April 3rd. The iPad won't be available at all Best Buy's, however. Only Best Buys with badged Apple Solutions Consultants (ASC) and "Apple Shops" will be carrying the iPads -- that's about 675 stores total.

solofx7 · Mar 27, 2010, 12:44 AM

thanks for the update.
funny thing, i called the number on the best buy site, they said they have no idea about the ipad.
I went to the store, and one of the blue shirts said no.
But after looking at the earlier posts from -Q-, it seems possible.
My local store has a large apple section, it also has a dedicated apple person most of the time.
I will continue to hold out hope for this

Thank you all for your response and info.

Cold Warrior · Mar 27, 2010, 09:48 AM

A nearby BB used to have an Apple section but it was completely unauthorized. They'd just purchased Apple stuff and copied the authorized BB Apple layout. But then Apple caught them and made them take it down. That was over a year ago and still no Apple products in that place.

solofx7 · Mar 27, 2010, 12:27 PM

This is one of the legal Apple sections.

solofx7 · Mar 27, 2010, 05:37 PM

The have all of the Apple hardware and is laid out very nicely.

solofx7 · Mar 27, 2010, 11:08 PM

update:
I just came back from best buy and the blue shirt gave me the "wink-wink" he does not know if they will have apple tv next week.
so we will se..

-Q- · Mar 30, 2010, 12:09 PM

Seeing reports of Best Buy availability, along with their 'game plan' for the release. Inventory will be limited, but it seems like Best Buy might have them...

rambo47 · Mar 30, 2010, 11:39 PM

I'll be checking out my local BB store bright and early on the 3rd. There's an Apple Store in the mall next door, but it's a tiny shoebox of a store, almost like a 1/4 store. It's a narrow scrap of space jammed in between a pizza joint and a shoe store. I can take a 20 minute drive to the Short Hills Apple Store, a beauty of a store in a very upscale mall, but they get lines out the ying-yang at product launches.

solofx7 · Apr 1, 2010, 01:16 PM

Thanks -Q-, I have gotten confirmation that my Best Buy store will have them, so I will be there at 8am to make sure I get one

SHORTHILLS NJ! hey, I used to live in jersey, now reside in Charlotte NC. Good luck.
I thought that only local Apple Store there was bridgewater NJ.

rambo47 · Apr 3, 2010, 09:32 AM

Best Buy Rockaway NJ will have them. As of 8:00 AM today there was one lone guy camped outside of this store. Kinda sad and lonely. I'm heading to Starbucks in that area now and will do another drive-by. If there is still no line, I may just hop out and grab me an iPad. 64 GB WiFi-only.

rambo47 · Apr 3, 2010, 11:23 AM

I went back for the 10:00 opening and found a line of maybe 15 people. They got their store vouchers for iPads and in we went. I didn't take one. Demo units on display, but no internet connection was available. Event the Best Buy WiFi was useless as it was password protected and nobody seemed to know the WEP key. This made it impossible to really put an iPad through it's paces. Even some of the demo apps wouldn't run because they required an internet connection. Very disappointing.

I noticed that almost all the apps looked great at 1x (iPhone size) but got blurry when run at the iPad's native 2x full-screen resolution. Very disturbing. Sure, it's early in the game, but it left a bad taste in my mouth. Photos, on the other hand, looked spectacular. Auto-rotate was pretty snappy, maybe a 1/2 second delay. Gestures didn't work for rotating pictures. No e-book reader app on those demo units. I was expecting a dedicated app for that, but what do I know?

Best Buy got about 30 or so iPads in stock, various configurations, and I didn't check on what flavors they were. In the end, I walked out without one although I could have spent 15 minutes on line to walk out with one. I'm taking a wait-and-see attitude. I intended to scoop one up but the lack of an internet connection in the store and the poor resolution of the apps provided on the demo units gave me pause.

solofx7 · Apr 3, 2010, 02:26 PM

I went to the Best Buy in North Charlotte to get mine.
I got there are 9am and there was about 10 people in line so I decided to wait since the temp was good

Eventually someone came out and told us they got more than they thought they would and would hand out tickets for them.
10am picked it up and away I went.
Funny thing is that they had no accessories at all.
Well, they had a third party neoprene case that to me served no purpose.
I have only played with it for a bit.
I am slightly put off by the developers charging 3 -5 times more for the "iPad" version.
I am fine with paying a little bit more for something that I already bought, but the prices are out of control for "HD" version pricing.
I think that people that already bought the iPhone version of the apps should have the ability to upgrade for a different fee.

rambo47 · Apr 4, 2010, 09:42 AM

I stewed on it for the whole day, then went back last night 5 minutes before closing and picked up one of their last 2 iPads. 32 GB. I'm all in.

beb · Apr 4, 2010, 09:53 AM

Got mine (64 gb) at best buy. This reply is being typed on it. Am sorry I ever doubted the whole mess. Works great! Am truly wowed. Have an HP with iTunes and Windows 7, works perfectly. Can now see why those damn iTunes gift cards are really going to sell now. Keyboard takes a while to get used to.

jokell82 · Apr 4, 2010, 10:21 AM

Picked mine up from best buy as well (a 64gb model). Walked in around 4pm just to see if they had any. They had TONS in stock. And a friend was over last night and decided to get one as well. We went back to the same best buy about 10 minutes before close and they had at least another 15-20 in stock.

solofx7 · Apr 4, 2010, 09:08 PM

Originally Posted by rambo47

I stewed on it for the whole day, then went back last night 5 minutes before closing and picked up one of their last 2 iPads. 32 GB. I'm all in.

Wow, I thought you were not going to get one?
What do you think so far?

My big concerns are some of the iPhone apps do not work at all, they just flat out crash.
and
The huge price markup that people are getting for the "iPad" native apps.
Maybe I am just mad because I bought the mac version, iphone version, and the price of the iPad version is high to me for most apps and does not take into account that most of the people are upgrading essentially to a very very similar platform that probably did not require a ton of changes.

Other than those things, I love it!