Thousands of fans queue outside London’s Apple store for a chance to get their hands on the latest gizmo

Quite a picture, isn’t it? This was the scene outside one central London independent retailer this morning, as thousands of customers queued to buy its products.

The company in question? Apple, who release their eagerly anticipated iPad today. The device, which will either change the way we look at everything or is simply the sign of a nation drunk on hype, is available in the UK for the first time this morning. Some experts say that it heralds the beginning of the end for printed newspapers, so this scene raises two questions for more traditional independent retailers up and down the country:

1) how do you think the iPad and rival technologies will affect the sales of printed newspapers? And how will you respond?

2) how would you cope with a queue that long!?