New iPad Launches to 'Record Weekend' in Sales

[SteveJobsUK]

I wonder what their definition of Record Weekend in sales means?

I had mine delivered to the office, but went past the local Apple store here in London (westfield) and it was dead compared to the iPad 2 and iPhone 4 launches. A lot of the stores in Westfield opened to also sell the ipad and these were empty in the morning, only Apple had a small line (compared to iphone 4).

I would argue that Apple has kinda saturated the market and your average joe blow is not going to buy the ipad 3, if they have a 2.

I think it was kinda a non even to be honest.

looking at http://www.ipad-stock.co.uk/ its readily available. Dubious about this record sales stuff.... mind you most of the people I saw in line were going to be flogging them on Ebay in countries that did not have it released.....

I think it means they've sold more iPads this weekend than they have on any other previous iPad opening launch weekend...

That always gets said, people said the same thing about the iPhone 4s. Low and behold, they have record sales that quarter, year etc. get it?

 

[thekev]

I think their supply being higher this year made it seem like it wasn't selling as well.

Clearly this isn't the case. Blockbuster release as usual.

I wonder if some of their supply issues have been solved by switching displays to Samsung. Say what you will about their mobile business but their semi-conductor and display businesses are pretty much unmatched in terms of quality and volume that they can deliver in short amounts of time.

Also, say what you will about samsung mobile, but their flagship devices have always had great screens!

I have to wonder if the amount of animosity toward Samsung reflected on this board is even seen at Apple's corporate headquarters. People making decisions on this stuff can be much more cool headed about it. Also it's been suggested on this board that Apple accounts for roughly 5% of their sales (, but we have no idea what margins are like on sales to Apple. We know Apple's margins are good. It doesn't mean much for their suppliers. Also if it is 5%, that's still quite a chunk for a company of that size in terms of sales to a single customer.

 

[camardelle]

3 Million?

That's freakin' amazing! WOW!!

 

[aliensporebomb]

Anecdotally

I showed up at the Apple store at Southdale, Edina, Minnesota because a friend needed to pay his phone bill at the neighboring AT&T store.

This was Sunday and you'd swear it was last minute shopping before christmas - place was packed.

All iPads out for display were the new type except for two.

So they had 12 on one table (6 used to show the features) and then on the back wall table they had another 6 plus two of those being the ipad2.

All of these stations had someone playing with an iPad.

And not only were the ipads being looked at but everything else, even their Mac Pro on display (probably because someone brought up Garageband with Alex Lifeson teaching budding guitar players "The Spirit of Radio").

 

[diane143]

Fortunately, we're getting $2200 back from Uncle Sam on our taxes. Thanks, Sam!

You mean you gave Uncle Sam an interest free loan for the year!

(better than owing but still)

Ya, once you add a cover and tax it gets right up there. I held off on the Apple Care, just couldn't stomach that yet!

 

[zoetmb]

Iphone 4. Pre-orders + crazy lines. Just comparing the lines that I noticed.

I actually spent a few months checking in on the ipad 2 as was going to get one intially, no hope after launch. I can go pick up a new ipad right now.

Though we will see. As this is effectively an Ipad 2S, we will see how many are prepared to upgrade. A lot of money for a nice screen to be honest. For myself going from Ipad 1, the decision was easier

It's ridiculous that people think that every upgrade that Apple releases is with the intention that everyone who bought the previous model will buy the new model. No one expects that. While certainly some people are of the "I must have the latest and greatest ilk", that's a minority.

Car manufacturers release new models every year. They don't expect that everyone who already owns a previous year's model is going to buy again. I'm still using my iPhone 3GS. I'm waiting for the iPhone 5 (which I suspect will be called "the new iPhone"). My Mac laptop is about three years old. Unless something revolutionary appears, I'm probably at least two years away from replacing it (although I have upgraded the HDD). I kept my CRT TV for 25 years and my 2-channel analog stereo system for over 30 years before replacing them. Etc.

When Apple releases a new model it's primarily to attract new users. Secondarily, it's to attract users who need another unit for another member of their staff or family. Thirdly, it's to attract users who bought at least two models back. After all those, it's to attract those who always must have the latest thing. While Apple probably has more consumers upgrading with every new model than any other consumer electronics company, I think that's something that's unique to Apple.

As far as the money goes, it's the same price as the previous model, so the "it's a lot of money for a nice screen" argument is not logical. What is logical is to ask oneself if they have a laptop and they have an iPhone, do they really need the iPad as well? But quite obviously and to Apple's great credit, an incredible number of people have said yes.

Previous to the iPhone and iPad, most new consumer electronic products took anywhere from 10 months to several years to sell 1 million units and that's across all manufacturers of the product type. Apple now does this in days to a month. It's completely unprecedented.

 

[UnseenLlama]

3 Million?

Came back to this thread just to say good call!