From Sydney to Hong Kong to London, crowds lined up to buy Apple's newest iPad, Julia Angwin reports on the News Hub. Photo: AFP /Getty Images. 
 
 Shoppers began purchasing Apple Inc.'s third-generation iPad on Friday, as the technology giant tries to widen its lead in the fast-growing tablet market. 
 
 Crowds showed up at Apple retail stores around the world. The tablet computer, priced starting at $499 in the U.S., has a higher-resolution screen and faster networking capabilities than its predecessor, which has dominated the market to date. 
 
 Snapping Up New iPads View Slideshow Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters A man in a mask celebrated with Apple store's staff after buying a new iPad in Tokyo Friday. Inside the New iPad View Slideshow iFixit/Reuters Apple Inc.'s latest iPad includes chips made by Broadcom Corp., Qualcomm Inc. and Elpida Memory Inc., the gadget-repair site iFixit reported after taking one apart. More photos and interactive graphics 
 
 Apple stores in 10 countries, including Japan, France and the U.S., were opening at 8 a.m. local time Friday--in some cases, hours before usual. Certain retailers like Best Buy Co., RadioShack Corp. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. are selling the device as well. 
 
 The scene at many Apple stores resembled a rock concert, with large crowds, barricades and Apple employees cheering customers as they bought the iPad. Those waiting included a mix of Apple devotees, first-time buyers and foreigners who couldn't wait for the product to arrive in their countries. 
 
 In New York, a line of more than 250 people stretched through an underground passage of Grand Central Terminal as they waited for the new Apple store there to open. In front was Goerg Bokelmann, 37, a firefighter from Germany who came to the U.S. for the week to specifically get the iPad. 
 
 "It's new, it's good, at least I hope," said Mr. Bokelmann, who also travelled to the U.S. for the iPhone 4. 
 
 Campo E. Osorio from Afghanistan went to Paris to buy the iPad because it isn't available in his home country. "It's a fantastic product for my situation because in Afghanistan it allows me to keep in contact with my family," Mr. Osorio said. He then opened a video link on his new iPad that allowed the reporter to talk to a friend of his in Afghanistan. 
 
 In London, 23-year-old student Cindy He waited with more than 300 others outside the Apple Store in Covent Garden. "I'm here to help my friend get an iPad. He's not in the U.K., he's in China," Ms. He said. 
 
 Shoppers began purchasing Apple Inc.'s third-generation iPad on Friday, as the technology giant tries to widen its lead in the fast-growing tablet market, Tomi Kilgore reports on Markets Hub. (EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images) 
 
 The anticipation for the latest iPad has built since it was announced last week by Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook at an event in San Francisco. The device is the first major product launch for Apple since the latest iPhone went on sale in October, and the company needs very strong sales for each new device it sells to meet Wall Street's lofty expectations. 
 
 This time, Apple is trying to hold on to its roughly 60% share of the tablet market with a product that is considered a refinement of last year's iPad 2, with a speedier graphics processor and voice dictation capabilities. Overall, Apple said it has sold more than 55 million iPads as of December. 
 
 Piper Jaffray forecasts Apple will sell more than a million new iPads on Friday, up from around 300,000 when the original iPad went on sale in April 2010. Several financial analysts are predicting sales of multiple millions over the first weekend. 
 
 Outside Apple's Fifth Avenue store in Manhattan, about 250 people endured a rainy night and a misty, 40-degree morning. Then, after purchasing the iPad, buyers got swarmed by the awaiting media. Some held the box over their heads; others looked liked they wanted to go home, a scene played out elsewhere, including Frankfurt, Germany. 
 
 "I'm happy, but now I have to go back home, take a couple of hours of sleep, and then take a close look at my new toy," said 22-year-old Michael, who declined to give his surname. Michael, his girlfriend and about 350 others waited on the high-end shopping street in Frankfurt where the Apple store is located, although bystanders said the line was shorter than when the previous iPad version was released. 
 
 Sales first got under way in Australia, where about 200 people stretched around the block outside Apple's flagship store in Sydney. Albert Chu, a 56-year-old bus driver from Sydney, bought two—a 64 gigabyte version for his daughter and a 16 gigabyte model for himself. "I will use it to trade stocks back in Hong Kong," said Mr. Chu. 
 
 In Tokyo, more than 450 people stood in a line when the doors of the Apple store in the upscale Ginza neighborhood opened. Most had started to line up once the early-morning commuter trains started running, according to 19-year-old college student Ryo Watanabe, who was first in line. 
 
 Mr. Watanabe had taken turns waiting in line for 37 hours with his 20-year-old friend, Kento Inoue. Already an owner of the iPhone 4, iPhone 4S and the iPad 2, for which he had been around 14th in line to buy at its launch, Mr. Watanabe was determined to be first this time. 
 
 "The fact that the display has gotten better is a big enough reason for me to get it," he said. 
 
 The iPad's new screen also attracted 11-year-old Xander Gansman, who sold his iPad 2 on eBay to raise money for the new device. The improved screen, faster cellular connection and voice recognition is "really all that I want," Gansman said at New York's Fifth Avenue store. The fifth grader is a budding developer working on games and building websites for friends and clients. 
 
 At many locations world-wide, coffee, cake and other refreshments were available to those who waited. Some people went to the stores just to soak in the atmosphere and not to buy anything. Brad Pizzimenti, a student from the U.S. studying in Paris, said, "It's an exciting place to be. Apple has made a computer launch into a rock concert." 
 
 The mood, though, was more subdued in Hong Kong and Singapore. In Hong Kong, Apple implemented an "iReserve" system that required customers to place reservations online. Demand overwhelmed the number of reservations available Thursday, and only those with email confirmations were allowed to purchase the device Friday. 
 
 IPad Exposed The components inside the new iPad are estimated to cost about $30 more than those of its predecessors. View Interactive Interactive: Exploring the New iPad Explore features and specifications View Interactive Photos: The Apple Evolution Take a look back at Apple's innovations over the years. View Slideshow Chris Hondros/Getty Images 
 
 Meanwhile, tech-obsessed Singapore lacks an Apple store. Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. alone was selling it in about 24 stores and partner outlets, and further diffused the rush by selling the device online starting at midnight, using couriers to deliver the units at 3 a.m. 
 
 "It is unpleasant for our customers to stand for hours in the dark after midnight," said a SingTel spokesman. 
 
 Alan Lim, a teacher at Singapore's Republic Polytechnic, arrived at a popular outlet of Apple reseller Starhub Ltd. at 6:50 a.m. and found himself first in line. "It's a bit weird," said Mr. Lim, who had never before tried to buy an Apple product on launch day. 
 
 Meanwhile, other European countries--like Poland--have to wait until March 23, when the new iPad goes on sale there. "We see strong interest in the new iPad in the amount of email we get from consumers," said Agnieszka Slusarz, marketing manager at iSource, Apple's authorized distributor in Poland. 
 
 By early afternoon, the lines at most stores had dissipated, such as the one in central Zurich. Meanwhile, the line at the Grand Central store was expected to ease by 1 p.m. 
 
 Analysts have said the lack of a dramatic design change in the new iPad could cause some customers to pass on purchasing--though other Apple products, such as the iPhone 4S, have thrived despite their physical similarities to previous generation products. If customers do decide to skip the newest iPad, Apple's sales could still be buoyed by the existing iPad 2, which the company will continue to offer at a lower cost. 
 
 The Cupertino, Calif., company said in recent days that it had sold out of its allotment of iPad preorders, saying that interest among its customers was "off the charts." The company has since said new preorders would take about two to three weeks to ship to customers. 
 
 Apple's stock has climbed on the expectations and ensuing price upgrades. Apple shares have risen more than 40% since the start of the year and have touched $600 a share. 
 
 —Ian Sherr in San Francisco, Andrew Critchlow in Sydney, Sarah Berlow in Tokyo, Matthew Allen in Singapore, Te-Ping Chen and Shibani Mahtani in Hong Kong, Tom DiFonzo in London, William Horobin in Paris, Peter Hein in Frankfurt, Sean Carney in Prague, and Matt Jarzemsky and Joan E. Solsman contributed to this article. 
 
 Write to Jessica E. Vascellaro at jessica.vascellaro@wsj.com ||||| It's iPad launch day. 
 
 And that means... 
 
 Well, you know what that means. It means that the semi-annual ritual for thousands upon thousands of Apple fans has begun. 
 
 We'd like to be able to offer some special insight into what compels people to stand in line for hours for a product they don't need that they can buy in seconds online. 
 
 But we're afraid we don't have any special insight into that. 
 
 Fanaticism? 
 
 Desire to follow the herd? 
 
 Adrenalin? 
 
 Whatever it is, it's powerful. And infectious. 
 
 So, as ever, we'll just sit back and be amazed and inspired by...
– The new iPad is here, and once again, Steve Wozniak is first in line for the latest Apple gadget. Sure, the Apple co-founder could get his hands on one without waiting in line, notes Mashable, but "it's become a ritual," he says in Los Angeles. "I wanna be one of the real people, who line up and wait all night. ... Apple’s just that important to us." The company's stores are opening at 8am across 10 countries today; for some stores, that's much earlier than usual. Some 200 people were in line in Sydney; a Tokyo Apple store drew 450; several hundred waited for the device in London. Dozens gathered days ago in Hong Kong, prompting a special reservation system, the Wall Street Journal reports. Who knows "what compels people to stand in line for hours for a product they don't need that they can buy in seconds online," wonders Henry Blodget at Business Insider. "Fanaticism? Desire to follow the herd? Adrenalin? Whatever it is, it's powerful. And infectious."