iPad 2 Mania Hits Local Best Buy

Cruising by the Best Buy in Union off Springfield Avenue, Patch contributor Susie Adamson snapped this picture. What's up? The iPad 2 is on sale now in retail locations.

Patch correspondent Phil Hoop's gave us the rundown on the new device:

What's different from last year's model? Not much, as Apple kept the age-old adage of "if it ain't broke don't fix it" in mind when designing the iPad 2. This year's model retains many of the features that made the first edition a smash hit amongst its users, including a full HTML web browser and an application library comprised of over 65,000 titles.

Yet there are a couple of key differences that make the iPad 2 attractive to buyers. One of which is the inclusion of two video cameras for use with Apple's FaceTime service, which enables users to video chat with each other over a WiFi Internet connection.

This year's model is also thinner in size and features an updated A5 processor, which is slated to make the device run nearly twice as fast as its predecessor.

Looking to get your hands on a shiny new iPad by the end of the weekend? Unfortunately, you are likely out of luck. By 7 p.m. the magic was all over at the local Best Buy. A sales associate at the Route 10 Best Buy informed us that the store's stock had been depleted in under two hours.

"You are the 197th person I've told this to in the past hour!" she said jokingly.

It's not all doom and gloom though. The retailer is taking pre-orders for the next batch of shipments of the device starting Saturday morning, although a $100 deposit is required up front. The associate recommended getting to the store early to better your chances of securing a device.

If your not willing to wait out in the cold there are other options out there. The Verizon Wireless retailer in the Livingston Mall is also taking orders from customers in-store for direct shipment once the device becomes available.

In addition, both the WiFi and 3G models of the device are slated to ship out within the next two to three weeks from Apple's Online Store. This gives you a ample amount of time to start paying off the device's hefty price tag, which ranges from $499 to $829 depending on the model.