Apple iPad 2 lines from SXSW 2011 [HD Video]

By now, you’re probably well aware the the Apple iPad 2 was released yesterday to much fanfare but how well-received was the tablet at the SXSW 2011 conference and festival? Well, believe it or not, there are a ton of Apple fans at this tech conference, so the video below will show you how these folks braved the warm day in Austin to give Apple more of their money.

There’s no downtown Apple store here in Austin, so the company rented out a space that’s about 5,000-square feet for a pop-up store of sorts. This wasn’t the place to go if you needed a new Mac charger – this store was about the iPad 2 and its accessories. In fact, we couldn’t wait to get it unboxed for you so we tore into the shiny new tablet on the streets.

As for the crowds, you’ll see in the video below that there were a few hundred people in line before it opened at 5 p.m. local time. Some of the IntoMobile team waited on the streets of Austin for up to 7 hours so we could get it as soon as possible – Apple doesn’t like to send review units to us because it’s not guaranteed an excellent review. While the SXSW crowd may be an outlier, other reports suggest there were long lines around the country and possible shortages.

What were people waiting for? Well, the Apple iPad 2 improves on its predecessor by including a dual-core processor that promises to be twice as fast. There are also two camera on the device, including a front-facing one for FaceTime video calls. Throw in a gyroscope and a slimmer and smaller design and the iPad 2 is definitely a strong evolution of the product.

The tablet wars are in full force now, as the Motorola Xoom Android Honeycomb tablet is now on the market and it won’t be too long until we see the BlackBerry PlayBook.