Apple Monday confirmed that sales of its iPad tablet crossed the 1 million mark. The one millionth iPad sale happened on Friday and, according to Apple, 1 million iPads sold in 28 days means the iPad beat sales records for the original Apple iPhone, too.
"One million iPads in 28 days -- that's less than half of the 74 days it took to achieve this milestone with iPhone," said Apple CEO Steve Jobs in a statement. "Demand continues to exceed supply and we're working hard to get this magical product into the hands of even more consumers."
According to Apple, iPad users have downloaded more than 12 million apps from the Apple App Store and more than 1.5 million e-books from the iBookstore.
This past weekend Apple also kicked off sales of iPad 3G, the 3G-enabled version of the iPad that according to some initial sales estimates moved about 300,000 units by Sunday night. Apple in mid-April said that customers who had preordered iPad 3G after April 19 would have it shipped by May 7.
Apple is on pace to rapidly expand its iPad sales as well, given that iPad is expected to begin selling abroad later this month. According to Apple, it will reveal the exact launch date for and all pricing for international iPad sales by May 10. Apple was forced to delay the iPad's international release by a full month due to supply shortages.
Perhaps the real strength of Apple's iPad will be revealed in the company's third-quarter earnings in a few months' time. Apple in mid-April reported blowout second-quarter earnings on the back of increasing iPhone and Mac sales, and that quarter ended before iPad even went on sale.
At the time, Apple COO Tim Cook said that iPad demand in the U.S. was "much, much stronger than we predicted" and that Apple would be "adding capacity and we'll see where it goes."
