iPad 2: almost one million units shipped at launch?

The iPad 2 tablet was made available on the 11th of March in the United States, with sales over the first three days a lot higher than that witnessed with the first iPad tablet.

Despite the arrival of competing devices unveiled at the beginning of the year, the launch of Apple’s iPad 2 tablet was nevertheless an impressive event in the United States, the only market where the device is currently available.

Analysis have estimated the number of devices sold in the first three days since its launch, with these figures often being a good indication of a device’s success. A lot were estimating sales figures at least comparable with the first iPad (300 000 shipped units), with some projecting up to 500 000 or 600 000 units sold over the first weekend.

According to initial estimates (although these are to be confirmed), sales have been solid, with shortages of stock for resellers that have led to delays of a few weeks for the delivery of online orders.


Awaiting viable competition
Some analysts are now suggesting that sales of the iPad 2 at launch could be as high as two or three times greater than the first iPad, with such figures leading to projections of close to a million units shipped. Apple will provide their own estimations today.

At the same time, there are rumours (again, not official) that the Motorola Xoom tablet, the first to come with a 10" screen and powered by Android Honeycomb which was released in the United States at the end of February, is having difficulty finding its public.

According to an analysts note, an average of 2 per day were being sold in Verizon’s shops, with this being well below the numbers required to meet estimations of 300 000 units shipped in the first quarter.