London throng queues up for iPad 2 (photos)

Jewels Lewis sits at his spot at the front of the London Apple store line to buy an iPad 2 on the day the tablet went on sale in England. Lewis waited in line from 7:30 a.m. March 24 to 5 p.m. March 25, but that's a lot shorter than the 3 to 4 weeks Apple estimates it'll take to receive an iPad 2 through an online order right now.

Ben Paton, left, and Craig Fox arrived more than 24 hours in advance to buy iPad 2s in London.

Catherine Cheng, at front, planned to buy a pair of iPad 2s then sell them to friends. They'd been in line since 7:30 a.m., and nine hours later, the sun was setting.

Jewels Lewis was first to receive Apple tickets used to help smooth the iPad 2 purchasing process. He likened them to Willy Wonka's golden tickets.

Some of the first people to get an iPad 2, brandishing their commercial conquests above their heads, emerged from the Apple store to cheering crowds snapping photos of the celebrities of the moment.

This man (left) wanted a repair for his laptop on the wrong day. He was turned away because the Apple store was closed until the 5 p.m. iPad 2 launch.

St. George Street, a block and a half away from the Apple store entrance, accommodated a few hundred people at the end of a line that doubled back on itself.

A double-decker London bus pushed gently through crowds in front of the store. Police tried constantly to clear the sidewalk, or as they say in England, the pavement.

The first overflow section of the iPad 2 purchase line trailed down Hanover Street. Apple set up barricades with trash bags attached, handed out water to those in line, and hired security guards to keep an eye out overnight.

Apple's crowd controllers gradually moved people in batches from one segment of the line to another. Here's a curved section at the intersection of Hanover and St. George streets.

As many gawkers as buyers showed up to see the iPad 2 launch event. Many took photos.

The iPad 2 launch drew a throng much larger than just the buyers.