The new iPad cometh...

I never met a geek story I didn't like - or that I didn't want to write about. So in advance of Apple's expected announcement Wednesday of its next-generation iPad (which some folks call iPad 2, but I'm betting they're wrong, but I digress) I wrote a piece for Yahoo! Canada Finance, and it published today:

How Apple's unique strategy won the world over

My point? The iPad isn't successful because it's a lovely piece of engineering. It isn't about the hardware. The software/iTunes App Store ecosystem's the real reason no other tablet comes close.

So while everyone in San Francisco and beyond is swooning over the cool new features, lighter weight, thinner chassis and all the other things that make folks cool at parties, I'll be focusing on the less tangible reasons that explain why Apple rules the consumer electronics world. And I'll be alone in the corner, most likely.

I'm such a contrarian.

Your turn: Are you the kind of person to line up outside a store to be the first among your friends to own a given gadget? If you are, why? If you aren't, what do you think of those who do?