Who bought iPad 2?

Betanews readers are an opinionated lot, and they have a lot to say about Apple's second-generation tablet, which went on sale at 5 p.m. March 11th. Yesterday I asked: "Did you buy iPad 2?" Many of you tried but found local stores sold out. Many others would kiss the devil before buying iPad 2 -- or any Apple product, for that matter.

"If you haven't bought the iPad 2 you're either broke or on drugs," Roland Jefferson writes in comments from his iPad 2. "There is no in-between or fine gray line. Take your pick: broke or on drugs. To which Hans Torm replies: "You got it wrong. You bought an iPad 2 so apprently you are on drugs and broke. :p"

Speaking of price, iPad 2, like its predecessor, is available from $499 to $829, depending on storage and whether or not there is 3G in addition to WiFi. There is no contractual commitment for 3G models, which hugely differentiates iPad 2 from many Android tablets, many of which require multi-year data contracts. Quick iPad 2 pricing: 16GB WiFi, $499; 32GB WiFi, $599; 16GB WiFi-3G, $629; 64GB WiFi, $699; 32GB WiFi-3G, $729; 64GB WiFi-3G, $829.

"I purchased one," Jack Brown boasts. "Glad I did. The Apple Store sold out rather quickly with over 400+ people in line."

Commenter spinoza2 (real name, please) "tried, but they were completely sold out in greater Boston by Friday early evening. That includes 7 Apple stores, Targets, Walmarts and Best Buys. All sold out, and lots of people driving from store to store trying to score one...Clearly Apple was not even close to ramping up its supply and inventory chain to meet this demand. From what I can see it's a combination of Apple being too hasty in releasing the iPad 2 (they should have waited another couple of weeks to increase inventory), and in an unexpected demand resulting from a lot of people waiting for iPad 2. I suspect Apple will get some negative fallout for this next week, with some angry words circulating on the Net."

He may be right. Early this afternoon, I randomly called five Apple stores -- Ann Arbor, Mich., Bethesda, Md., Denver, Colo., San Diego, Calif., and South Portland, Maine. All were sold out of iPad 2s.

"I live in a small town 20 miles from the nearest Walmart," Gene Vincent writes in comments. "[I] called them at about 4:50 p.m.. They said they had 10 iPad 2s and about 5 people were in line. [I] decided to take a chance and drove there. One guy in front of me, no waiting at all. I got the last 16 GB WiFi 3G they had. [I] had to settle for white, wanted black. I like it 'cause I can read it in bed with no lights on unlike my Kindle. [It's] heavier than I thought and a little bulky. Got it for work and haven't done very much with it. But I could grow attached to it. The jury's still out."

Commenter Kirker (say, how about a real name, bud) couldn't get iPad 2 on launch day. The local Walmart sold out. But he snagged two iPad 2s at Apple's temporary SXSW (South by Southwest) store: "They were relatively well-stocked even at 2:30 p.m., five hours after opening -- but were completely sold out of 16GB models of all stripes by then. I bought two white 64GB models: one WiFi only, one AT&T 3G. The line had probably 30 people in it and moved quickly, and I just missed out on buying the 32GB AT&T 3G model I really wanted."

Last week, Apple's Baron Creek store in Austin Texas posted notice: "An Apple Store is popping up at 522 Congress at W. 6th St. in downtown Austin. Get your iPad 2 starting Friday, March 11, at 5:00 p.m. And don't miss a moment of SXSW." It's brilliant marketing to open a temporary, or "pop-up," Apple Store for SXSW attendees. These are exactly the kind of influencers Apple should want using iPad 2 and its other products. SXSW opened March 11th and ends on the 20th.

"I am an original iPad owner who accompanied friends to purchase their first iPads," Betanews reader J.G. writes by email. "The friends I acted as guide for are relative Apple newbies. One owned no Apple products, but is familiar with the brand's reputation. The other two own iPods. The Apple Store line at Pioneer Place Mall in Portland, Oregon, hosted more than a thousand in two lines covering both mall buildings."

I waited in line with more than 500 people outside Apple Store Fashion Valley on March 11th. The 3G models, for AT&T and Verizon, quickly sold out. Commenter "Ray" ghostface147 asserts that "3G models are sold out because they are being shipped overseas where it currently isn't available. As for me, I want one but after playing with it, I am disappointed by the display. It is pixilated compared to my [iPhone 4] retina display."

It's not just the display. There are complaints everywhere about the front-and-rear facing cameras, for which Apple hasn't officially disclosed megapixels. Considering the quality of cameras in newer Android tablets -- can you say 8 megapixels in the Galaxy Tab 10.1 -- some people may be surprised. But as I explained last week, Apple typically iterates rather than innovates this early in a new product category's life cycle -- to maximize margins and recoup upfront investments.

Tim Donahue is an Apple dream buyer -- a defector returning: "I bought my first iPad. I was a big Mac user until Windows 98 came out and switched. I couldn't afford all the software upgrades. Everything seemed more expensive on a Mac. I don't have an iPhone and just now started using iTunes; have a lot to learn again but looking forward to the challenge."

Commenter Mr. Swiffer isn't buying iPad 2, instead "waiting for tablets that use nVidia's upcoming Kal-El processor. It would be nice if software developers would stop being lazy when it comes to Android apps (or the lack of). Any developer who thinks there's no money in Android is clueless. There are hundreds of thousands of consumers interested in Android phones and tablets and that's likely a massive understatement. Lazy developers are the primary cause of unnecessarily high return rates on Android devices."

Swiffer has a point. Last week, Pocket Legends-maker SpaceTime revealed the game sells better at the Android Marketplace than Apple's App Store -- 9,000 downloads per day versus 3,000 to 4,000, with Android users generating as much as 50 percent more revenue than those using iOS devices. Apple's tablet is hot now, but the broader context is the cloud-connected mobile platform. Will the future be Android or iOS, or will they largely divy up the market? Some context: IDC is bullish on iPad, predicting 70 percent to 80 percent global market share this year (iPad ended 2010 with 83 percent share, as measured by device shipments). If just 70 percent share, Apple would ship 35 million tablets this year, based on IDC estimates. Apple shipped nearly 15 million iPads during the first nine months of availability. Full-year numbers will be available next month.

Kevin Baron dispels the mythology that all current Apple customers are intoxicated by CEO Steve Jobs' marketing Kool-Aid and must have iPad (and any other product the company ships). Baron comment:

I did not buy a iPad 2, or iPad 1. Fact is I don't have the spare money for one. Sure I could afford it, but it's something I don't need. I spend enough money on stuff I don't need. Sure I might get one at some point, but not anytime soon. It's the only tablet I would buy -- because of the apps. Apple has the apps and Android doesn't. Without apps, the device is just a paper weight. We have iPhones and iPod touches in this house already. I see no rush to get a iPad 2. But we all do want one. Fact is the kids would use it way more then I would. Much like the TV, which is why i havent spent the money on a massive TV yet. I'm not the one who would use it.

"I did not buy an iPad 2 because I already have an iPad 1, and I will wait until that reaches the end of its life before I replace it," Stephen Sundberg writes in comments. Martin Farmilo also isn't buying: "Last time I checked the bank, I didn't have more money than sense. Add to that I can't think of a reason to want one even if I had the money."

Grinch21 writes (will you people please use real names!): "I waited 3 hours in line, but it was well worth it...If you know how to use a PC, tablets are not for you but if you don't, iPad is pretty easy to use."