iPad 2 Launches to Huge Lines at Apple Pop-Up Shop in Austin

Coverage of SXSW 2011 sponsored by TalkBoxApp.com.

The new iPad 2 is available in the US and we were at the Apple pop-up shop that was built in downtown Austin, Texas just a few blocks from where South by Southwest just to sell the iPad 2.

Although the windows were all boarded up it seemed that most everyone in Austin knew there was going to be a special Apple shop at the corner of 6th and Congress that would be selling the iPad 2 at 5pm – this shop was special though, it was not advertised as being an official Apple store and it was in close proximity to the Austin Convention Center where one of the biggest interactive conferences – as well as the highest concentration of hardcore Apple fans – were going to be for the next 5 days.

We got to the line around 4pm to find at least 500 people stretched down from 6th street down Congress and wrapped around 5th and down from there. Although no one knew for sure this would be an Apple pop-up shop, around 3pm they unveiled a crack in the black covers to reveal the Apple logo. From there the line filled out fast.

This guy was first in line – he said he had been waiting since 6:30am and he was great in talking to all the media that showed up to cover the event like Techcrunch and 9to5Mac – yes, for the first time ever Neonpunch is on the same timezone covering the same event as these 2 big sites.

As the countdown got closer a battalion of Blue-T-Shirt-clad Apple employees came running out of the building cheering and screaming and basically ran down the entire line all the way to the end and back up again before returning inside the still-blacked store.

More chanting and applause started to rumble from within as they started to pull down the black curtains that unveiled a full Apple store that seeming magically appeared.

Then at the sharp tick of 5:00pm our #1 queuer got inside with about 20 other people in line to get their iPad 2′s.

High-Fiving each of the new customers it was obvious that Apple knows not only how to generate excitement with Steve Jobs’ keynote speeches but also carry it through to the retail level.

In a matter of minutes, our #1 queuer came out of the store with his new white iPad with lime green cover. He was more than happy to demo his new gadget and with that we left the lines to get their orders fulfilled.

We returned later that night around 11:30pm to find the store still open and cram packed with Friday night shoppers but the lines had died down telling us that either not enough people knew about this secret location or they were all at the 2 other official Apple Store locations in Austin or buying from the myriad of other retailers.

But it was still exciting to see the unveiling of the iPad 2 to a very excited crowd. We hope to see this same excitement when the iPad 2 comes to Hong Kong.

Our SXSW 2011 coverage is made possible by TalkBox – a voice messenger app for iPhone you can download here.

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