Analyst: Apple iPad 3G Sales Top 300,000 Opening Weekend
The 300,000 number come from Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster, an influential Apple observer, who in a research note issued Sunday wrote that his initial estimates of 1.3 million overall iPads sold by June would wind up "conservative."
Last month, it was Munster that reported first-day sales estimates of above 600,000 iPads for launch date, with Apple later confirmed about 300,000 units had been sold. But with Apple also scheduled to start selling iPads internationally this month, Munster's estimates may yet pan out.
According to Munster, he and his team monitored lines throughout the weekend at two Apple stores: the 5th Avenue store in New York and at a mall outside Minneapolis. The lines were shorter at those stores than at the first iPad launch on April 3, Munster's team noted. Munster also said his team called 50 Apple stores across the country and 49 said they had sold out of iPad 3G and most Wi-Fi iPads as well by the end of the weekend.
Supplies of Apple's original iPad met some delays following the April 3 launch, which Apple said came from underestimating demand for iPad. According to Apple, it will announce the launch date for iPad abroad and all pricing information on May 10.
Apple on April 20 reported another blowout quarter, on the back of iPhone and Mac sales. Given that initial iPad sales began after the quarter ended and thus weren't factored in to those numbers, Apple's momentum will no doubt continue.
Said Apple COO Tim Cook on the earnings conference call, referring to iPad sales, "Demand in the U.S. is much, much stronger than we predicted, and we regrettably had to push out the international launch to get enough Wi-Fi units in the U.S. We're adding capacity and we'll see where it goes."