If you haven’t been able to get the Apple iPad 2 yet, you might want to check out your local Toys R Us because the mostly-kids store began selling the tablet this weekend.
Not every Toys R Us store will have the Apple iPad 2 but the company has set up a web page to show you where you can get one. There’s no word on many units each store has but I’d imagine there aren’t many, as the tablet has been sold out in many Apple and Best Buy stores, so get there early if you want one.
The expanded retail presence at Toys R Us reveals a couple things. First of all, this just shows us how popular this device actually is. The first Apple tablet sold about 15 million units last year and I wouldn’t be shocked if the iPad 2 doubled that in 2011.
Secondly, the Toys R Us availability shows us how this device is being used by a lot of people. I’m squarely convinced that the iPad 2 and tablet in general are just leisure devices right now and gaming will be a big part of why these are attractive.
While I don’t think it will replace an Xbox anytime soon, I could see a day when an iPad 2 with AirPlay could be used for some high-quality, multiplayer gaming in the living room. Each person could have their own screen to augment the action on the big-screen TV and this could come in handy for things like sports games or even assassin shooters.
I’ve played with the latest Apple tablet extensively but have yet to take the plunge with my own money. I’m not sure if I want a Honeycomb tablet, the BlackBerry PlayBook or the upcoming HP TouchPad but I’ll let things play out for a while before finally deciding.
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