Apple estimated to have sold over 300,000 3G iPads
updated 10:40 pm EDT, Sun May 2, 2010
3G iPad may have had near-total sellout
Apple may have sold as many as 300,000 iPads with 3G over the launch weekend, according to an estimate by Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster. The tally would include both 52 days of pre-orders and walk-in sales and has been accompanied by sellouts at many stores. Of 50 Apple stores called on Sunday, all but one had completely run out of the more advanced iPads.
The researcher added that Apple had likely sold over 1 million iPads so far and that a previous estimate of 1.3 million iPads for the entire spring quarter could be low. Multiple analysts, including Katy Huberty of Morgan Stanley, have predicted 7 million iPads sold in the first year.
Munster has sometimes been optimistic with such estimates, as he overshot Wi-Fi iPad figures by roughly twice the actual 300,000. The new study, however, should encompass a wider range of stores and comes with a faster sellout rate than for the Wi-Fi model, which sold briskly but took some time to trigger shortages. The 3G versions are expected to ship in smaller numbers due to their higher price and the hesitations about paying for cellular Internet access.
Combined, both the 3G and Wi-Fi sales should make the iPad the quickest-selling tablet and e-reader to date. Amazon is thought to have sold 3 million Kindles to date but would have taken over 2 years to reach a goal that Apple may exceed in just 6 months. It's not known if any Windows-based tablets have reached similar numbers, as none of their manufacturers have been confident enough in their sales to break their figures out from total PC sales.
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Nov 2008
So much for the iPad not selling...
The iHaters will probably say that each store only had about 50 3G iPads in stock. I'm curious to see how iPad sales and iPhone sales are going to clash. Will there be an overlap of users or will the iPad establish a totally different group of consumers. I only know for certain is that Apple retail stores are definitely going to be packed. They'll be a hangout for more tourists than ever. Apple is just killing the competition.