I finished my breakfast sandwich and Coke (this is Texas, we drink Cokes for breakfast) just as I drove up. There were parking spots left in front of the store and a couple of dozen people were hanging around outside the store. As I approached the store on foot I realized there were two lines, one for those with pre-orders and those without.  I was number 5 in the pre-order line. Everyone else was in the “I didn’t plan ahead” line.  As long as I was there the lines stayed about 3:1 with more people in the second group.

I spent time talking to people in the line to see how they expected to use their new iPads. Paul, who didn’t want to give me his last name was the first one in line. He wants a 64GB model that he plans to instantly fill with movies. He didn’t have a pre-order and got to the store at 4:00 AM.  Keith Patrico arrived soon after. Keith, who was wearing an Apple shirt,  did pre-order his, but he wanted to be first in line. You can always tell those who have participated in these events before. Keith had a nice comfortable chair, a warm quilt, and he was napping in spite of the crowd.

And speaking of crowds, there were about 100 people in line when I left, iPad in hand.

Geneive Bailer was there to buy an iPad for her mother’s birthday.  Mom is switching from a PC to a Mac. Geneive definitely gets daughter points for this.  A lot of the people I talked to plan to use their new iPads when they travel. They were among the most enthusiastic buyers I talked to.  Most will be using it instead of their current laptops, but all had somewhat different reasons. The most frequent reasons were working and reading books.  Collin Greentaner who is getting a 32 GB is a perfect example. He travels frequently as part of his job and is really excited about the idea of carrying something as small as the iPad that will still allow him to work or relax on airplanes.

The other most repeated reason for buying an iPad was replacing a laptop. This one surprised me a bit, but the people who plan to do this all have desktops and feel that they can function perfectly fine with the iPad. Both Bill Jones, who got a 16 GB today and has a 32GB 3G on order, and Micah Jackson who got a 32GB today, are very comfortable with their decisions.