On Friday, May 28, Canadians from every province lined up at retail outlets to get their hands on the latest from Apple. The iPad arrived in the US more than a month ago, selling a record one million units in less than four weeks. Canadian sales will probably be a bit less steep, but no less exciting.
In Calgary, people lined up at the Market Mall, many “camping out” as if waiting for tickets to the latest pop band’s concert. What won’t be counted this week is the number of Canadian electronics fans who crossed the border to get theirs in the United States when they first arrived in late April.
Unlike the US, Canadians also don’t have a wireless carrier for their iPad. Both Rogers and Bell offer data plans for the iPad (and iPhone). In the US, only AT&T customers can connect their iPad or iPhone to a cellular data network.
While Apple has yet to release figures on sales in Canada, at least 100,000 units are expected to be sold in the first weekend and triple the total by the end of June.
===Beware of imitations
While they’re not likely to be too prevalent in Canada, pervasive Chinese imitation of any technology is also happening with the iPad. Just three weeks after the iPad launched in the US, Chinese markets were showing off knockoffs running everything from Android to Linux to Windows.
Called “shanghai” (fake), they have been available in China for a few weeks and are now leaking to other black markets around the world. Some may show up in Canada like they have in the US (usually through online sellers).
=== To buy or not to buy?
This question haunts many people because, well, they like to have the latest and think the iPad could be useful, but they are not sure about spending that much money on one. This is understandable, as the iPad can cost many a week’s wages. Is it really justifiable?
So far, user experiences in the US have shown it to be hit or miss. E-book enthusiasts are generally not thrilled with the iPad’s book-reading performance. Others, who might have expected the device to be a netbook or similar small computer, were disappointed to discover that it’s actually just an iPhone with a larger screen.
Most, however, have been happy (so far) with their purchase. The Internet is full of message boards and blogs with people touting the 10-inch screen and its performance, streaming movies, surfing the Web and doing general computing tasks on smartphones on the go. It should be noted that it’s not as portable as its cousin, the iPhone, so it’s not a “push in your pocket and go” item.
All in all, buying an iPad is up to you, but it stands to reason that most don’t really have a good use for one.
Having said that… I ran out on launch day (just before lunch) and bought an iPad. As a devotee of the Apple brand, I simply ‘had’ to have one. And if you want to see yours actually unboxing his shiny new iPad, you can check out what some media outlets call “nerd porn”: it’s my iPad unboxing video.
