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Apple fans snap up new iPad as it hits shelves

Apple enthusiasts around the world braved the standard long line to become the first customers to snap up the new iPad early Friday, but the response was relatively muted compared to previous launches.

The line at Apple’s flagship Fifth Avenue New York store, which began to form as early as Monday, snaked around the side of the building and rounded the corner onto Madison Avenue by 7:30am local time, according to AllThingsDigital.

The line did not reach peak levels seen at other product launches, in which it made it all the way back around to the front of the store, the tech website said.

Midway through the line, US Army recruiters Luis Zacarias and C.J. Montoya waited patiently in uniform, convinced they would be able to get one of the new tablets before they had to head into work.

“We’re leaving here with one,” Montoya said with a smile. “That’s undeniable.”

A handful of companies looked to capitalize on — and build goodwill — with the crowd, according to AllThingsDigital.

A Pennsylvania candy company was handing out Peanut Chews, while iPod casemaker Otterbox handed out survival kits, including beanies and ponchos that came in handy when the cold misty night turned to rain around 4:00am local time Friday.

Announced less than two weeks ago, the new iPad looks much like its predecessor in design but features a super-high-resolution screen, along with an improved graphics chip and camera and the option of using ultra-fast LTE wireless networks from AT&T or Verizon.

Across the country on the West Coast, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak joined the crowds to get in on the “fun.”

In an interview filmed in the pre-dawn hours outside of the Los Angeles Apple store, Wozniak acknowledged that it would be perfectly straightforward to pre-order the iPad, but not nearly as much fun. The line in Los Angeles at the time was relatively short, however, according to MarketWatch, which posted the video.

Global sales first got underway overnight in Australia, where a line of about 200 people stretched outside Apple’s flagship store in Sydney. Police and security kept shoppers in line as hoots rang out inside the store as customers bought the new iPad, The Wall Street Journal reported.

In Tokyo, more than 450 people stood in a line that stretched two blocks when the doors of the Apple store in the upscale Ginza neighborhood opened.

But in Hong Kong, the mood outside the recently-opened Apple store in the city’s Central district was more subdued, according to the WSJ, which said Apple employees were the rowdiest bunch.

Shares in Apple fell 0.5 percent in early New York trade to $581 a share, a day after the stock briefly touched $600 for the first time.