The iPad2 is off and Running

Well, the iPad 2 is off and running, having made its international go live date. The lines were found to be long in Berlin, and London, and even in my part of the world in Sydney. In total, the new iPad 2 went on sale in 25 countries.

My favorite story came from London, there people were lined up to get a new iPad 2 for more than 33 hours. People were spending the night on the street, or standing and trying to stay awake. It’s crazy mate.

If the counts are correct, there were more than 300 people in the line outside the Regent’s Street Apple store. There were more than 500 outside an Apple store in Covent Garden. So, her Majesty’s constituents were in good form for this launch, just like they were for the original launch of the iPad.

Ok, enough about the crazy people in London. The new iPad is much lighter and thinner than the original. It has been equipped with two cameras and a faster processor. It went on sale Friday in 21 European countries plus Australia, Canada, Mexico and New Zealand.

And, I must say, it did well down under. People began lining up outside an Apple store in Sydney, Australia, two days before the sought-after device went on sale.

Apple had originally planned to also begin selling the iPad 2 in Japan Friday but delayed that launch in the wake of the destruction wrought there two weeks ago by an earthquake and tsunami.

The iPad 2 went on sale March 11 in the U.S. It will be available next month in Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore and additional countries. So, stay tuned. We’ll have to see how the numbers come in.

Johnny Smoes – fighting off the crowds in Sydney.