After months of marketing hype that had fans
grabbing their wallets this weekend, Apple announced Monday that it
sold more than 300,000 of its new tablet computers on Saturday — a
one-day total that topped the 2007 debut sales tallies for the original
iPhone.
While the
company did not release total sales figures for the holiday weekend as
of Monday morning, analysts predicted shoppers would snap up more than
4 million units by the end of the year.
The company also said that, as of
consumers users had downloaded more than 1 million applications — the
small programs users can add to their devices — and nearly 250,000
ebooks from the company’s iBookstore online marketplace.
Yet, given the country’s economic malaise and the
iPad’s hefty price tag, analysts warned that questions linger as to
when — or if — there will be similar mass market adoption of the tablet
as there has been of Apple’s blockbuster iPod and iPhone devices. (The
iPhone 3GS sold 1 million units in its first three days last year.)
They also point out that the initial rush of
customers would be dominated by early adopters or Apple enthusiasts,
who might be more forgiving of the fact that the company may not have
worked out all of the technical kinks — or found a so-called “killer
app.”
“Apple reached first base,” said
Some prospective buyers may be waiting until the end of the month for the 3G version of the iPad, which will cost up to
but allow consumers to use the device more like a smartphone. That
could pose a problem down the road for Apple, point out analysts, who
say the company must also walk a careful line with its iPad to ensure
the new device doesn’t eat into sales of its popular line of laptops or
iPhone.
But none of those concerns tempered Apple executives’ glee at the consumer turnout.
“It feels great to have the iPad launched into the world,” enthused chief executive
Nearly 3,300 apps specifically developed for the iPad are available so far, a third of them games, according to
More apps, he said, were sure to come because “as
long as the iPad keeps selling, you’re going to see a lot more
innovation on this platform.”
The frenzied start-up mentality that ruled
in dot-com booms times is again taking hold, with thousands of software
developers scrambling to stake an early claim in the iPad gold rush.
Experience has taught them the potential riches can be huge,
particularly for those developers who get in early: The apps market for
the iPhone and iPod Touch together top
According to best-seller charts on Apple’s iTunes store, consumers grabbed a movie-viewer from
Most of these early apps were developed after Apple
announced its plans to release the tablet in late January. Few software
builders were given access to one of the devices, so most developers
had to resort to creative alternatives.
“We actually had paper cut-outs of iPads to start the design process, to imagine what holding one would be like,” said
Fans said they were happy, even giddy, days after their purchase.
“It’s completely mindblowing and insane,” said Willis of
But Apple also took some licks as well: At least one
fan tried to tap into the iPad mania on YouTube — by being the first to
smash one on camera.
He said he was surprised that people has since accused him of being an Apple hater.
“Not even. We still have two other iPads, plus my family has iPhones, Macs and iPods,” said Kockott, 19, a
“I love Apple, actually.”
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