200 line up in Manhasset to grab new iPad

The lure of the latest iPad, available Friday morning in the United States and nine other countries, was too strong for 200 hardy souls in Manhasset to resist.

Many lined up overnight outside the Apple store on Northern Boulevard, braving a late-winter chill.

When the doors opened at 8 a.m., and the first customers entered, employees greeted them with applause.

At the head of the pack was Chris Xu, 23, of Queens, who had been encamped on the sidewalk since 11 p.m. Thursday.

Afterward, clutching two of the prized third-generation iPads, he was asked how he felt. Deadpanned Xu: "Very cold."

The new tablet model, starting at $499, comes with a faster processor and a sharper screen. It also has an improved camera, similar to that of the latest iPhone.

Two years after the debut of the first iPad, the device's launch was the second-biggest "gadget event" of the year, after the annual iPhone release. Analysts expected Apple to sell a million of the tablet computers Friday.

Dre Blocker, 29, of Great Neck, and Betson Thomas, 23, of New Hyde Park, said they got to the Manhasset store shortly after midnight. "It was freezing," Blocker said. "It was raining, windy. It was like a blizzard for a while."

But it was worth it, they agreed Friday, if only for the bragging rights. "It's no fun if everybody's got a new toy to play with and you don't have one," Thomas said.

Taking a more practical approach, Avi Slavin, 29, of Roslyn, preordered his iPad. At 8:30 a.m., he simply walked into the Manhasset store to pick it up.

"I wouldn't stand in this mess," he said of the line.

Slavin, who works for an agency that designs ads and promotional videos, said he wanted the new iPad's higher-definition screen to better show his company's work to clients.

A trio from Brooklyn, meanwhile, were set to profit off the gizmo's popularity.

Naz Hossain, 23, of Brooklyn, and two friends bought iPads with plans to resell them at a premium to people standing in an even longer line outside the Manhattan store.

"I guess we're young entrepreneurs," Hossain said.