Apple fiends camp out for iPad launch

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Dozens of people huddled in winter coats and blankets braved the frigid, sub-60-degree weather to spend the early morning hours in line at Apple Stores around Los Angeles.

As is customary these days for a major product launch by Apple Inc., the faithful waited patiently in line for their chance at spending money on the company’s latest product, the iPad.

One group at the Pasadena location began lining up at 8 p.m. the night before. Others, who were already guaranteed an iPad thanks to pre-orders, lined up not long after that anyway. For the social aspect or something.

Most people in line at the L.A. Grove and in Pasadena said they were buying the 16-gigabyte version at the entry-level price of $499. Others sprang for the most expensive (until the 3G models come out) 64-gigabyte unit at $699. No one bothered with the in-between device.

Rodney Earley, a Disney employee from Valencia who was second in the line for those who had reserved at the Grove, couldn’t wait to load up his 16-gig iPad with e-books. Jeremy Warner, who was one spot behind Earley in line, planned to dump everything he could on his top-of-the-line iPad, starting with some movies.

Some folks discussed Apple lore, iPhone apps and tech specs. A few buried their faces in their sweatshirts. There was no action at the Glendale Galleria Apple Store, but we shot video at the Grove and in Pasadena. The clip is embedded at the top in an iPad-friendly YouTube format.

-- Mark Milian
twitter.com/markmilian