Got yours yet?

The other day, after much hype, the new iPad was launched... and immediately sold out. There are headlines all over the place announcing this. I could have announced it weeks ago. Correction: technically speaking, I could have predicted it weeks ago. It's happened often enough that the pattern is clear to anyone except a few die hard Apple fans.

Apple leaks rumors, via unnamed "Apple insiders", of a new iPad months before a product launch. The rumors eventually get acknowledged by official comments from named Apple sources but no details are provided. Then those rumors change to rumors of the improvements, enhancements, and what not. These eventually settle down and the announcement date is established. Sometimes that date is postponed before it arrives. As the date approaches, the excitement builds, the rumors fly, the "buzz" builds.

The launch date is announced, the enhancements/improvements get finalized.

As the date nears to a few days, the lines outside some Apple stores begin to form. And grow. The "smart" ones get on the virtual line; they pre-order online.

The launch date arrives, the media reports, and the product sells out within days... if not hours.

The smartest guys in the room, possibly the universe, have underestimated demand... once again.

Do I really need to congratulate Apple on their marketing strategy? Or does the adage, "A sucker is born every minute" suffice?

Don't get me wrong, Apple makes fine products and the iPad is as game-changing a product as the iPhone was. Tablets are the future of portable computing, I think. The lines between phone and computer are blurring rapidly.

But I remember when many people traded their cars in almost every year. Just to get the newest, the latest, or the largest tailfins.

Maybe  nothing really changes...