14 DAY TRIAL // Just minutes ago, Apple announced over two million iPads sold in less than 60 days since the tablet’s debut on April 3. The company was only able to ship devices outside the US this past weekend. Residents of Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK reportedly grouped in long waiting lines at their local Apple retail stores, further confirming that Apple’s iPad was off to a great start.
As usual, the two most relevant excerpts from Apple’s press release can be found below.
“Apple today announced that iPad™ sales have topped two million in less than 60 days since its launch on April 3. Apple began shipping iPad in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK this past weekend. iPad will be available in nine more countries in July and additional countries later this year.”
“‘Customers around the world are experiencing the magic of iPad, and seem to be loving it as much as we do,’ said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. ‘We appreciate their patience, and are working hard to build enough iPads for everyone’.”
The report goes to outline the iPad’s capabilities, such as the ability to offer content in a more intimate, intuitive and fun way, as well as a great experience with web browsing, email, watching movies or browsing through a photo library. The device is also marketed by Apple as a gaming machine, an e-reader, as well as an alternative to netbooks, thanks to its lightweight form factor, and long battery life.
Interestingly, Apple still acknowledges that, “Developers have created over 5,000 exciting new apps for iPad that take advantage of its Multi-Touch user interface, large screen and high-quality graphics.” In a similar press release dated May 7, 2010, the Mac maker reported exactly the same number of applications as being available exclusively to iPad owners – 5,000. Whether or not Apple has forgotten to calculate just how many iPad-native apps it currently hosts on the App Store’s servers, these numbers would suggest developers aren’t too keen on developing for the tablet device.