Apple iPad breaks three million sales in just 80 days

by Stevie Smith - Jun 23 2010, 06:03

Here’s a piece of technology-related ‘news’ likely to surprise absolutely no one: the Apple iPad is selling like touch-screen hot cakes at a shiver-infested school fete in December.

Moreover, it has emerged this week that Cupertino-based Apple has sold a staggering three million units of its tablet computer in the 80 days since it first launched in the U.S. market.

“People are loving iPad as it becomes a part of their daily lives,” trumpeted Apple CEO Steve Jobs in an official statement. “We’re working hard to get this magical product into the hands of even more people around the world.”

Having recently expanded iPad coverage to include several major European markets (including the UK and Germany), Apple has said it plans to launch the device in nine more countries during the month of July.

Apple’s announcement comes in the same week that leading eReader manufacturers Amazon and Barnes & Noble moved to put some pricing distance between their products (the Kindle and Nook respectively) and the versatile iPad – which serves as a portable computer, multimedia hub, and a full-colour eReader.

The iPad currently retails at a starting price of $499 USD, a price point that left it uncomfortably close to the $259 USD tag attached to the 3G-equipped Kindle and Nook devices ahead of their recent adjustments.

As things stand today, the 3G Kindle now retails for $189 USD, while the 3G Nook retails for $199 USD. Barnes & Noble has also unveiled a new WiFi-only Nook, which will sell for just $149 USD.

Apple’s shares were up by $4.55 USD (almost two percent) following news of the iPad’s continued sales momentum, lifting per share value to $274.85 USD on Tuesday.

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