14 DAY TRIAL // Apple is believed to have shipped over one million iPads to date, which includes both models. The recent launch of the iPad 3G has reportedly added roughly 300,000 units to the mix. Sales include not only in-store purchases, but also pre-orders spanning almost two months of waiting time for the customers.
Reports quote Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster as saying that Apple sold 300,000 3G iPads this past weekend, just as many as the WiFi-only model sold in its first 24 hours. Checks with Apple retail stores were the source of these figures, AppleInsider reports.
"Near-term, this may put downward pressure on launch day/weekend statistics, but long-term we see it as a positive, as consumers are definitely interested in the iPad as a new category," Munster wrote. "In the first several quarters, we believe Apple will sell about 60% wi-fi only iPads and 40% 3G models."
Munster’s recent predictions have been somewhat inaccurate, although some factors are simply out of the analyst’s hands. Similar checks with Apple’s retail establishments in April led Munster to believe that Cupertino would sell between 600,000 and 700,000 WiFi iPads on launch day, whereas Apple soon confirmed just 300,000 shipped units.
Apple tallied 500,000 units only at the end of the tablet’s first week in the wild. Munster later admitted that he had been optimistic in his estimates, revising his total 2010 iPad sales forecast to 4.3 million, AppleInsider continues to inform. He trusts Apple to have a major success with the iPad, citing huge consumer demand.
Apple U.S. retail stores started selling the 3G-capable version of the iPad at 5 p.m. on Friday, following a one-hour close time for preparations. The company was actually forced to postpone the official debut of its high-end tablet, due to an unexpectedly strong demand. Internationally, both iPads will become available later this month. For starters, Apple is set to ship devices in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK.