Some of the hundreds of people who have been queuing for almost two days in front of Sydney's Apple store to get the new iPad 2 say it's all about meeting people.
Canadian backpacker Alex Lee arrived in Sydney on Wednesday to be first in line to buy Apple's iPad 2 and has theorised on the phenomenon.
"I call it the 90/10 rule for Apple - 90 per cent is about the people, the experience and just the whole feeling and 10 per cent is about the product itself," the IT consultant said.
Alex already owns an iPhone, an iPad 1, and an iPad 2 (bought in America) and was typing away on his Mac laptop outside the George Street store when he was approached by AAP on a chilly Friday morning.
"The iPads I'm buying today, one is for charity and one is for my sister," he said.
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"It's the camaraderie, we meet a lot of good people in line and we have a good time learning about each other, different cultures," he said.
"We always find we have something in common."
Alex has CBD workers and tourists frequently coming over for a chat and people are constantly wanting to take pictures with him.
Further down the line several Sydney high school boys are bonding over their experience.
"They always say: why don't you just come next week. (But) it's not about that," says 15-year-old James Dounis, who has been camping outside the store since Thursday evening.
"The atmosphere is really exciting `cause you meet other people who want the same thing you do. "It's pretty trustworthy around here."
James, who doesn't own any other Apple products, says he wouldn't have made friends with Beau Giles, 17, if he hadn't lined up.
Beau, who will also buy his first Apple gadget on Friday, said lining up overnight would be a good story to tell. "I'm here pretty much for the experience," he said.
"I always hear people ranting how awesome it is lining up overnight and being able to meet new people. "It's cool to meet people who share common interest and sort of networking."
The iPad 2 started getting sold from 5pm (AEDT) today.
