According to Bloomberg, sales of iPad in its debut weekend is likely to be double what was originally estimated.
Piper Jaffray predicted 200,000 to 300,000 units would be sold. Sanford C. Bernstein & Company predicted 300,000 to 400,000. However, the first day has seen an estimated 700,000 of the tablets out the door. (See ReadWriteWeb’s ongoing coverage of the iPad launch.)
“Lines at five stores surveyed by Piper Jaffray were longer than expected,” Bloomberg reportered, “yet Apple had iPads available yesterday evening, signaling the company was able to produce enough devices to fulfill initial demand.”
With a starting price of $499, the first weekend will have brought in approximately $350,000,000 retail. Trefis predicted on Forbes that the iPad debut would result in a 2% increase in Apple stock, but long-term rise may depend on the success of its apps offering. Apple closed on Friday, according to NASDAQ, at $235.97.
This in itself was an all-time high for the stock, according to the San Jose Mercury News, “thanks more to rumors about the iPhone than anticipation for Saturday’s iPad debut.”
Photo by Louise Docker
