Local Apple fans line up for iPad 3

LITTLETON, Colo. – Techies across Colorado lined up Friday to be among the first to buy the new iPad 3.

In Littleton, more than 100 people camped outside the Aspen Grove Apple store starting as early as 9:30 p.m. Thursday night.

While most said they want to be the first to have the latest hot gadget from Apple, Eric Lobdell, who designs applications for smart phones, says the new iPad’s features will help him to improve his product.

“You can develop apps at a higher resolution. I’ll be using it for work,” Lobdell said. “It’s cool to have one of the first ones.”

The iPad 3 is faster, has an ultra-vivid Retina Display, improved camera and offers 4G network capability.

Carriers like Verizon Wireless and AT&T are offering competitive deals to woo the iPad customer.

“When you go into a store, we will get you hooked up and get your device activated right away,” AT&T spokeswoman Suzanne Trantow told us.

Apple’s stock set a record Friday soaring to close to $600 per share. The company plans to ship more than 50 million iPads this year.