iPad 2 sales likely to cross 600,000 on debut

Apple Inc may sell 600,000 of the second version of the iPad in its debut this weekend, extending the device’s lead in a crowding market.

The iPad 2 went on sale on Apple’s website at 4 am New York time, before appearing in US stores at 5 pm. Brian Marshall, an analyst at Gleacher & Co who predicted more than a half-million in unit sales, is one of several who expect the iPad 2 to outpace its predecessor. Apple sold 300,000 of that version in 24 hours.

The iPad line is the fastest-selling technology product in history, measured by revenue, said Tim Bajarin, an analyst at Creative Strategies Inc. In less than three months, it topped $2 billion — a milestone the iPhone took more than six quarters to reach. The second version has a head start on rivals, which are only now releasing their first models. It’s also benefiting from distribution through additional retail outlets.

“Apple has such a huge lead,” said Bajarin, who has covered the industry for more than 20 years and works as a technology consultant. He projects 500,000 units in two days. “Competitors are going to be chasing Apple for many years.”

White version
Bajarin — along with analysts from Rodman & Renshaw LLC and Piper Jaffray & Co — also predicts the device will outsell the first iPad, which came out in April and sold more than a million units in 28 days. Apple will get a boost from offering a white model for the first time, he said.

Apple gained $5.32 to $351.99 at 4 pm. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. The shares have risen 9.1 per cent this year.

The iPad 2 is available at 236 Apple stores. It’s also being sold at more than 10,000 outlets of AT&T, Verizon Wireless, Wal-Mart Stores, Best Buy and Target, according to Piper Jaffray’s Gene Munster. It goes on sale in 26 other markets on March 25.

Last year, Apple had 221 stores and it sold the iPad through about 1,100 other outlets, according to Munster. Through December, it sold a total of 14.8 million iPads, generating $9.6 billion in sales.

Customers began lining up at Apple stores hours early.

“I sold my old iPad and some other stuff, other gadgets, to pay for the new one,” said You-You Xue, 13, who had waited overnight to be first in line at the store in Burlingame, California, about 16 miles south of San Francisco. His father checked in on him throughout the night — calling his mobile phone and driving by the store, Xue said. “The tax will have to be paid for by my dad.”

According to the Consumer Electronics Association, tablets make up the fastest-growing consumer-electronics segment. In 2010, with the iPad’s introduction, total tablet sales surged to more than 10.3 million units, from 90,000 in 2009.