Apple’s new baby has arrived.

The 1.5-pound, 9.7-inch screen iPad landed Saturday into the eager hands of tablet computer geeks.  

But is the supersized iPhone (that doesn’t make calls) worth the hype?

Brandyn Baca thinks so.

The 18-year-old Apple junkie skipped school Friday to wait 24 hours outside the Apple Store at The Promenade Shops at Briargate.

When doors opened at 9 a.m. Saturday, he was first to clutch the pre-ordered $499 Web-email-video-book-gaming-apps gadget with a 10-hour battery life. It would have been handy during his overnight vigil.

Several dozen people stood behind him for the iPad’s unboxing. A few dozen more waited in the separate line for those who didn’t reserve iPads.

Still, the lines were short compared to other parts of the country, where iPad fans snaked around blocks.

Brandyn kissed his iPad for TV news cameras, then headed home to fire it up.

“I am going to use it for everything,” he said. Mimicking Apple’s ad claims, he added, “I think it is a revolutionary product and that it is going to change the world.”

Changing the world wasn’t Jennifer Coleman’s concern. She wanted an iPad to simplify her mommy life.

“It is going to pack all the videos games, music, movies, books. It is going to streamline everything, and make road trips that much easier,” said Coleman, about 30 people deep in the line for those without iPad reservations.

Saturday’s iPad release was of tablets with Wi-Fi only, priced at $499-$699, based on data storage gigabytes.

It’s the beginning of pad-mania. Many people are holding out for the $629-$829 3G-enhanced versions, which use always-on cellular connectivity that requires paying $15-$30 a month for a data plan so they can be constantly connected to the Internet.

Warren Jokinen, 49, wanted the best of both worlds. He pre-ordered a Wi-Fi model to a take to a special “camp” Saturday to play with apps with techie guys like himself. He also plans to get the 3G iPad model.

Cheryll Best wanted the best case for her new addition. Inside the Apple store, she debated between a simple back shell or a hot-pink zippered case for the iPad she plans to toss in her purse and take everywhere.

“It’s a toy for grown-ups,” said Best, 60.

She pre-ordered a pair of iPads for herself and her adult son, Cory.

“She knew more about them than I did,” he said.

A mile away, there were more iPads than takers Saturday morning at Simply Mac on North Academy Boulevard in Falcon Landing. Manager Dan Larsen expected his stock of 35 iPads would find homes before closing time, despite a slow start.

At MacSuperstore on the city’s east side, Saturday shoppers had to make do with playing with demo iPads.

The store’s 15 iPads never hit the shelves.

“They were all spoken for before we opened,” sales manager Les Molina said. “We are hoping to have more by Tuesday. More are coming.”

—Call the writer at 636-0253.

Brandyn Baca, 18, front and more than 100 other people waited patiently in line Saturday to be among the first to obtain an Apple iPad. Baca waited 24 hours and was first in line for the new Apple product. A roar of cheers and claps broke the windy air as soon as black curtains dropped in the storefront window of the Apple Store at The Promenade Shops at Briargate. Photo by BRYAN OLLER/The Gazette