New iPad 3 Sells 3 Million In First Week, As Tablets Begin To Eclipse PCs
Posted by Michael Nace under iPad 3 on Tuesday Mar 20, 2012The iPad 3 has an explosive first weekend in sales, reinforcing Tim Cook’s claim that tablets will outsell traditional computers in three years.
Well folks, the first numbers are in for the New iPad’s first weekend in stores. According to Apple’s own press release, their third-generation tablet sold three million units last weekend, averaging a million sales per day. Not bad, Apple.
This news comes right on the heels of our article from yesterday, which outlined Apple’s major stock explosion, and the anticipation that the iPad 3 had a big first weekend, in addition to an avalanche of pre-orders that saw many of the New iPad models sell out within two days. There’s no doubt that today’s news will send Apple stock into a new wave of gains.
In spite of the fact that the new iPad 3 has been characterized by the tech media as a mere upgrade of the iPad 2, consumers have followed through on what was predicted to be a major success for Apple’s third-generation tablet, falling in love with its new Retina display and 4G LTE connectivity. It has also helped that Apple managed to keep the iPad 3′s price tag the same as the previous two models, even though early surveys showed that prospective iPad 3 customers would have been willing to spend more.
It appears that 2012 is the year where many people feel ready to own an iPad; all of the “late adopters” are finally getting on board (maybe you’re one of them?).
This theory would seem in line with comments that Apple CEO Tim Cook recently made to the media, wherein he stated that the tablet is now clearly in its mainstream adoption phase, and will come to replace personal computers in the very near future. According to FoxNews, “’Gartner estimates that the tablet market will be 325 million units by 2015,’ Cook noted.” The article goes on to report: “According to Ross Rubin, executive director and principal analyst for market research firm NPD Connected Intelligence, that switch over could happen as early as this year.”
Gartner and other tech think tanks are also quick to point out that PC sales will also continue to grow — just not nearly at the same pace as tablets. However, PCs’ last bastion is the business sector; it appears that tablets will be slow to take over for business users, who still see desktops and laptops as the most productive computing devices for the business world.
Apple is seeking to make the iPad more business compatible, however. The iPad 3′s hardware and software upgrades are seeking to make it a viable tool for shooting and editing video, as well as creating graphics. There have also been rumors that Microsoft Office will eventually be adapted for the iPad as well.
In the meantime, however, consumers are flocking to the iPad 3, and it appears that it will usher in a whole new generation of users who appear ready to make it their primary computing device.
By Michael Nace









