The night of the day the 3G model came out, I stopped in at the Apple Store in Pasadena CA. I walked up to a pimply kid in company t-shirt.
"Got any sixty-four-gigabyte ones left?"
"Yep."
We walked to the special iPad-sales table in the back, where a shelf held the remainder of their stock: a few of the lesser capacities & a whole lineup of the 64GB ones.
"He wants a sixty-four-gigabyte," the kid said. The cashier turned to pluck one and swept the standing boxes with her hand. All but one tumbled to the floor. Heads turned at the clatter. She & the kid went paper-white.
I pointed to the remaining iPad, wobbling in its box.
"Um, I'll take that one."
The cashier scooped up the fallen iPads. A manager stepped over to assess the damage. I gave the kid my credit card and he rang it up nervously—the receipt rattled when he held it.
Total time waiting in line: 0 hrs, 0 mins, 0 secs
Retail entertainment value: 9.5 (poor little elves!)
Delight with product: Inestimable