Rita Schena, a 78-year-old retired teacher, is not the kind of person who waits in line for the release of a new tech gadget.

But there she was April 3, the day the iPad went on sale, queuing up at a Palo Alto Apple store. She had spent a short time playing with her son's iPad that morning and was instantly smitten.

"I said, 'Oh my God, I have to have one of these,' " said Schena, who lives in Menlo Park.

It's too early to get a demographic breakdown of the people who have bought the new tablet computer - more than half a million of which have been sold. But Apple's new gizmo appears to be resonating well with older adults, who see the 10-inch computer as a device that speaks to their particular needs.

Like the Nintendo Wii, which appealed to some seniors with its intuitive, gesture-based interface, the iPad is finding converts among older consumers who usually are not so-called early adopters.

Schena is a good example. The 1.5-pound computer is light enough to carry in her backpack but gives her a full-screen experience for reading books and doing e-mail. She's even started to play games on her iPad, something she's never done on computers.

"I love it for all of the things it can do: reading, music, movies, e-mail," she said. "I didn't know what it could do at the time I first saw it, but it's just so appealing."

Apple positioned the iPad as a revolutionary device that occupies the space between a laptop and a smart phone. While some derided it as a super-sized iPhone or iPod Touch, many seniors are enticed by its dimensions and ease of use.

Max Baumgarten, editor of ElderGadget.com, a site that caters to seniors interested in technology, said he's received a growing amount of positive feedback from readers enjoying their iPads.

"I think it goes back to the features that correspond well to the needs of seniors: big screen, easy to use, ergonomically friendly and lightweight," Baumgarten said. "I don't know if it's a deliberate move by Apple to make a tablet that appeals specifically to seniors, but that's what they did."

Apple spokeswoman Natalie Harrison said the company is happy with the way the iPad is selling. "We're thrilled at the response ... from customers of all ages," she said.

Mark Lainer, a 70-year-old real estate investor from Encino (Los Angeles County), has both a Palm Treo smart phone and an iPod Touch. But he prefers his iPad for many tasks because of its big bright screen and the ability to adjust the font size.

"I had the iPod Touch, but I didn't use it to see photographs or read books," Lainer said. "Having the size of the iPad is a real asset. It's the difference between something that sits on my desk and something I really use."

While many older iPad owners are computer literate, the tablet's features appear well designed to pull in users who previously have shied away from computers or were limited by disabilities.

Virginia Campbell, a 99-year-old Lake Oswego, Ore., resident, earned a modicum of fame when she appeared in a YouTube video with her iPad. Campbell, who has lived with glaucoma for more than 20 years, had never owned a computer. The iPad's touch screen allows her to get up close and make out letters, something she can't do on a printed page or even an Amazon Kindle. And with its ability to input text, the iPad has revived Campbell's dormant interest in poetry. She's written dozens of poems, as well as a note to Steve Jobs thanking him for the iPad.

"With glaucoma, it's like reading in a fog. But with the iPad, I can see because of the strong contrast between the printed words and the lighted background," Campbell said. "I can't emphasize how important this is for people with limited vision."

Not every senior is as enamored with their iPad as Campbell. Harold Lischner, 85, of Cupertino bought one at his wife's urging. But he's been slow to use it because it still feels a little complicated.

"It's fancy to use," said the retired doctor. "There's a lot of seemingly simple things on it, but I don't do them normally so I have to learn it."

Mary Elizabeth O'Conner, a 73-year-old tech-support freelancer in Cupertino, said she thinks the iPad is better suited than traditional computers to reach basic users. The iPad's design, she said, rewards people with direct, intuitive actions.

"The non-tech-savvy users want something simple, to push an icon and get your e-mail and go online," said O'Conner, who plans on buying an iPad in the coming weeks. "With the iPad, people don't feel intimidated by it."