iPad 2 rockin' and rollin'

Hate it or love it, the iPad 2 is causing a stir and crowding malls from Maine to Honolulu. The Apple store at Ala Moana Shopping Center here in Honolulu was ridiculously busy. Even after the launch at 5 p.m., a line out the door wrapped around nearby Macy's late into the night.

I'm still not a buyer of the magical product. Don't need it. But more power to those who enjoy it. I did play with it in the store and it is amazingly thin. Great feel. As a trader, it made me feel fine about opening a position Friday afterhours, but it's a long time until Monday's opening bell. Risk is something I try to manage. Emotions, too. The time it took to check out the store and the crowd — and the devotion of Appleholics — and it makes a difference for a so-so Apple fan like me. Sure, I've used Apple stuff for several years, but I still never owned an iPod, iPhone, iTouch or iPad.

Guess you could call it research. Or just fun.

Update, Saturday, 12:24 am (Hawaii). Did a Twitter search of "iPad 2" a few hours ago. Since then, there have been 2,600+ tweets. Insanity!

Here's some updated weekend reading
Fortune: Video: Walking the longest iPad 2 line (Mar 12 2011)
CNET: iPad 2 ship times reach 3 to 4 weeks (Mar 12 2011)
Cult of Mac: Apple store sends message to earthquake victims in Japan (Mar 12 2011)
Cult of Mac: Yellow tint redux, my iPad 2 backlight is bleeding (Mar 12 2011)
T3: Apple iPad 2 review (Mar 13 2011)
TUAW: What if you had brought AAPL stock instead of Apple products? (Mar 11 2011)