First in line for iPad, media-loving LIer buys 2

Three years ago, Greg Packer was the first to get an iPhone at Apple's Fifth Avenue store. Now, he's the first to get an iPad, too.

Packer, 46, of Huntington, bought two of the touch-screen devices as soon as the store opened Saturday morning. He had waited since 7 a.m. Tuesday, bringing with him a lawn chair and a change of clothes.

"It was worth the wait," Packer said. He plans to keep one and possibly give the other to a friend.

A retired highway maintenance worker, Packer is now something of a professional "man on the street." He has a knack for getting quoted by news outlets - including this one, of course - and is a fixture at news conferences and events.

In a 2004 interview, he said then-Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton once spotted him at a book signing and greeted him with, "Hello, Mr. Packer."

Packer admits that about 5 percent of the time, "I'm making stuff up to get in the paper."

"At times, the media can be gullible," he said in the interview.

Packer's developed a bit of a following. "I'm a huge fan," said Patrick Calderone, 37, of Santa Monica, Calif., a fellow line-sitter who posed for pictures with Packer on Friday outside the store.

Calderone, who flew across the country so he could get his iPad three hours earlier than his friends, has read about Packer on such tech sites as TechCrunch and Gizmodo.

Several other passersby Friday stopped to talk to Packer and snap photos as well.

"My family and friends think I'm crazy for doing this," Packer said. "Once it's in my hands, it will be all worth it."

The touch-screen iPad lets users surf the Web, read books, watch videos and play games.

California-based researcher iSuppli Corp. predicts Apple could sell 7.1 million iPads this year, driven by early adopters and users attracted by its "touch-screen-based interface."

Apple plans to release an iPad that can access 3G cellular networks later this month. And when it does, Packer plans to be in line.

"I'll be looking forward to the 3G," he said Saturday morning.

- With Emi Endo and Keith Wagstaff