Steve Jobs, Apple (AAPL) CEO and co-founder, said 2011 would be the Year of the iPad 2. He just might be right.
Initial reports were pretty good for iPad 2 sales, with analysts suggesting that 400,000 to 500,000 units being sold over the weekend.
But revised figures now are putting the number at about 1 million. And that means something like 3 million apps sold.
In either case, sales outpaced the first weekend sale numbers of 300,00 for the original iPad last April.
Even Apple itself conceded that iPad 2 sales were more than anticipated.
“Demand for the next generation iPad 2 has been amazing,” Apple spokesperson Trudy Muller, told Jim Dalrymple at The Loop. “We are working hard to get iPad 2 into the hands of every customer who wants one as quickly as possible.”
Apple wouldn’t say exactly how amazing “amazing” was. But analysts were estimating that one million units could have been sold. They found store shelves were bare of iPad 2s by Saturday.
I saw a model on display in a suburban Chicago Best Buy on Saturday. No lines there, but no stock.
Apple Bitch reports that Apple Stores will be open an hour early today, or 9 a.m., to meet demand or to keep the buzz going: “While no official announcement has been forthcoming from Apple, anecdotal reports from shoppers across the country trying get an iPad 2 (Monday), say they were told by retail staff that even if the Apple Stores were re-stocked (Monday), the iPad 2 would not be sold until (Tuesday) and for this reason, the stores would open early for dedicated iPad 2 sales.”
So if you have iPad 2 lust, it might be worth stopping in your friendly neighborhood Apple Store and waiting in line.
John Brownlee at CultofMac said: “In other words, if you want an iPad 2, it sounds like it’s a fool’s errand to spend a lot of time running back and forth between Apple Stores today, looking for a new shipment. Instead, prepare to wait in line first thing (Tuesday) morning. Could we have a mini repeat tomorrow morning of the long lines we saw on Friday?”
Online purchases won’t speed up things. Mark Gurman reports at 9 to 5 Mac: “This is already becoming insane: the iPad 2 is now shipping in 4-5 weeks from the Apple online store. That means if you order an iPad 2 from the online store right now it won’t show up at your door step for over a month. That’s about 11 months before the iPad 3 or less if Apple has a fall surprise up its sleeve.”
