I've got it! First man to get an iPad 2 in New York, a Frenchman who waited 17 hours. Then he's off back to France on 8pm flight

UPDATED: 10:37 GMT, 14 March 2011

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The Big Apple got Apple fever Friday evening as the doors opened to buyers keen to get their hands on the just-released iPad 2.

Just minutes after the 5pm opening at the company's SoHo store in Manhattan, the first one out proudly waving his iPad 2 box was a Frenchman called Frederick who crossed the Atlantic just for that precious moment.

'I waited 17 hours outside the store,' he said. 'Now I'm off to catch an 8pm flight back to France.

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Bagged: Frenchman Frederick clutches his newly purchased iPad2, one of the first to be sold at a store in America

For one tech fan the long line of customers just meant cold, hard cash.

College student Amanda Foote was the first to turn up at Apple's flagship store in midtown Manhattan, New York, arriving at 5pm on Wednesday.

She endured severe rain and little sleep but on Friday she sold her spot for $900, that's a $400 profit if you were buying the basic $499 model.

Cold cash: College student Amanda Foote endured heavy rain to earn $900 by selling her spot at the front of the line at Apple' store in midtown Manhattan

Miss Foote, a media studies student at Manhattan Community College, said she plans to buy tickets to a Lady Gaga concert with some of the cash that she earned for her trouble.

The buyer, app developer Hazem Sayed, said he has leave for a business trip Friday evening and wants to have the iPad 2 with him.

Let's go! Staff at a New York Apple store get in the spirit as the doors opened at 5pm Friday to the crowds

JUST HOW DIFFERENT IS THE IPAD 2?

The new iPad 2 comes with several improvements over the original version but the same $499 to $829 price tag, depending on storage space and whether it has connectivity.

It looks much like the first iPad, only with a thinner, lighter body with a curved back.

Among changes is the inclusion of cameras for video-conferencing, one on the front and one on the back.

But analysts say the 10inch touchscreen iPad 2 has been improved incrementally, not reinvented wholesale.

Waiting in line to make money is certainly an emerging trend.

In June, before the iPhone 4 launch, spots in line to buy the new phone were reportedly going for as much as $1,200,

The iPad 2 officially goes on sale at Apple stores, Best Buy, Target, and Walmart.

For those who were not excited by the 'thrill' of waiting outdoors online orders began early Friday morning.

The iPad will officially go on sale at Apple stores, Best Buy, Target, and Walmart at 5:00 p.m. Friday. Here’s a store report. For those who aren’t as enthusiastic about the authentic line experience, online orders are live right now.

When the original version of the iPad went on sale in April, Apple said it sold more than 300,000 in the first day.

It ended up selling more than 15 million in the first nine months, including 7.3 million to Christmas shoppers in the October-December quarter.

After its U.S. launch on Friday, the iPad 2 goes on sale March 25 in 26 other countries, including Mexico, New Zealand and several European countries.

Must have: Moment before the Apple store opened in downtown New York, the lines snaked around the block

To show the importance of the iPad to Apple, company CEO Steve Jobs emerged from medical leave earlier this month to unveil the new version.

Jobs, 56, announced in January that he would take a third leave of absence to focus on his health. In the last decade, he has survived a rare but curable form of pancreatic cancer and undergone a liver transplant.

Shares of Apple closed 1.53 per cent up at $351.99.