
New iPad Tops Three Million - yoda_sl
http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2012/03/19New-iPad-Tops-Three-Million.html
======
flyosity
From people I've talked to in my family and others (non-technical folks) the
idea of purchasing an iPad when it first launched wasn't incredibly alluring
for anyone who's not an early adopter. Regular buyers like to wait until 1)
reviews are available, 2) updates are out to fix bugs, and 3) the vague
"quirks" are worked out in a device before pulling the trigger. $500-800 is a
big investment for people buying a device to use on their couch, casually.

But now that the third generation is out, and it has an amazing new screen,
great battery and extremely fast wireless (and, presumably, no "quirks" that
people might think had been present in the earlier models) it's thought to be
a safer buy. It's not the first model, it's been out a few years, Apple knows
what they're doing by now, they've seen commercials and know people that have
one, etc. So what were they waiting for? The new one to come out. And it has.

I think the buyers this weekend weren't merely Apple fans with iPad 1s and 2s
who wanted to upgrade, but lots and lots of new owners who have been waiting
patiently for a good reason to whip out their credit cards. For this reason I
think overall sales of the new iPad are going to be totally insane.

~~~
justjimmy
I'm a new owner myself. I've been following Apple since I bought the first
generation iPod (paid way too much for it) when it first came out. I noticed
how fast and often Apple releases their upgrades, and I taught myself to wait
(hard to do) whenever I decide to buy a new Apple product.

I didn't get an iTouch till it's 3rd generation, didn't own a smartphone till
iPhone 4, and didn't get a MB till the Unibody design came out.

And now I will own my first iPad in an hour once I get home from work. The
delay due to getting the engrave option.

So yeah, count me as one of those that's finally getting an iPad :D

~~~
megablast
Apple and other companies offer a free engraving option, because you can not
return them afterwards. Still, why would you return it anyway, it is a great
machine.

------
rauljara
For contrast, they sold 5.2 million macs last quarter.
[http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2012/01/24Apple-Reports-
Firs...](http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2012/01/24Apple-Reports-First-
Quarter-Results.html)

Also, the iPhone 4s sold 4 million in its opening weekend.
[http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2011/10/17iPhone-4S-First-
We...](http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2011/10/17iPhone-4S-First-Weekend-
Sales-Top-Four-Million.html)

I couldn't find an apple press release for the iPad 2, but a lot of news
outlets reported that analysts had sales pegged around 1 million units.
[http://blackfridaymagazine.com/apple-claims-record-
weekend-f...](http://blackfridaymagazine.com/apple-claims-record-weekend-for-
ipad-sales/03036)

~~~
alexbell
It's pretty impressive that an unsubsidized mobile device in the $500+ price
range is putting up these numbers. Does anybody besides me think this
indicates consumers are replacing their old "real" computers with iPads?

~~~
InclinedPlane
You are exactly right. Non-ipad PC sales have been flat to declining basically
since the ipad was released. People are not buying as many PCs as you'd
expect, they are buying ipads instead.

~~~
recoiledsnake
How much is that because they already have a PC and don't need to replace it
as frequently as previously?

How many people do you personally know who's computer use is all on a tablet
and don't use a PC anymore?

~~~
bbgm
A year or so ago, I knew none. Today I know about 6 for whom the iPad is their
only "computer" (people like my mother in law). It adds up over time.

~~~
usaar333
Are all the other 5 relatively old?

It's hard for me to see someone who grew up around computers switching to
today's tablets. Producing anything (even a simple email) is radically faster
on a computer. Consumption is even faster on a computer (key bindings,
indirect input that doesn't block the screen) and more comfortable, at least
while sitting down (head positioning). For the old market it seems like they
could benefit from something like a chrome book just as well -- a really
dumbed down computer where you don't need to install things, have windows, or
anything us hackers tend to expect computers to do.

~~~
jsz0
Not sure about that. I know lots of people under 40 years old who can't touch
type. Hunting & pecking on a multi-touch keyboard is no worse than a physical
keyboard. Probably better thanks to predictive typing and universal spell-
check.

------
m0nastic
When I picked mine up from the package room of my apartment on Friday, the guy
there said that 15 had been delivered that morning.

That seemed like a pretty high number for a single apartment building in
Washington D.C.

For what it's worth, I'm incredibly happy with it so far.

~~~
glimcat
Residents tend to be reasonably well clustered in terms of socioeconomic
factors, and we know that at least one resident exists for whom this is a
reasonable purchase.

If we assume the 3x10^6 sales are all US (false, but good to some order) and
estimate the US population at 300x10^6, then the expectation is roughly 1:100
that a random person will order a unit. Conditioning that on socioeconomic
factors should yield a reasonably high probability that if you ordered one, so
did several of your neighbors.

~~~
m0nastic
That's probably true. I wish I had better data ;)

As a contrast, I was the only resident who had an iPad 2 delivered during the
launch weekend.

There are 300 apartments in my building, and I'm actually in the minority
demographically (my building is ~ 1/3 diplomats, 1/3 graduate students, and
1/3 "other"). I suspect for the "other" though, that we're all at least in a
moderately similar socioeconomic bracket.

------
54mf
But the processor isn't quad-core! But it weighs more than the iPad 2! But
it's thicker than the iPad 2! But they didn't say how much RAM it has!

~~~
gnaffle
Just another part of the Apple Product Cycle
(<http://www.misterbg.org/AppleProductCycle/>):

"The haters offer their assessment. The forums are ablaze with vitriolic rage.
Haters pan the device for being less powerful than a Cray X1 while zealots
counter that it is both smaller and lighter than a Buick Regal. The virtual
slap-fight goes on and on, until obscure technical nuances like, “Will it play
multiplexed Ogg Vorbis streams?” become matters of life and death."

~~~
54mf
Ha! Exactly.

------
samstave
Assuming an average price of 600 - that is 1.8B in revenue, in ~3 days.

Or, $25 MILLION PER HOUR.

EDIT: assuming that is in 48 hours, that equals 37.5 MM per hour in revenue.

What company has produced such revenue in some other space. Any?

I am sure the revenue for the Oil Industry is higher, globally, but for one
company? That is insane.

I sold my apple stock at $200 :(

~~~
hyperbovine
Don't feel bad, I sold mine at $38 :)

~~~
sixothree
I have only a few that I got at $21 before the split.

------
vibrunazo
There's been plenty of reports lately, that average people cannot tell the
difference between an iPad 2 and 3. What do HN users who have both think about
this? Are these true or exaggerated? If it's true, then what does the new iPad
breaking sales records means? That apple can pretty much sell anything with
the right marketing at this point, no matter how innovative its technology may
or may not be?

[1] <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iox5Q2nWi-Q>

[2] [http://gizmodo.com/5894094/we-people-an-ipad-2-told-them-
it-...](http://gizmodo.com/5894094/we-people-an-ipad-2-told-them-it-was-the-
new-ipad-and-they-loved-it)

[3] [http://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-tn-
differen...](http://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-tn-difference-
between-ipads-20120319,0,5898212.story)

------
goronbjorn
I wonder how much revenue AT&T/Verizon are booking because of data plans for
the iPhone and iPad. The total combined revenue from iOS hardware, data plans,
and apps from the App Store must be frighteningly large.

------
avar
How usable is it if you don't own any computer running either Mac OS X or
Windows? Doesn't it still need iTunes to upgrade itself etc, or can you buy it
as a stand-alone computer for casual browsing and games?

~~~
arn
It still needs to be activated on a computer, but I believe the Apple Store
will do that for you.

Otherwise, it's very usable without a computer, now with over the air updates.

edit: oops, I guess I'm wrong.

~~~
gnaffle
As of iOS 5 you can activate it over the air (WiFi or 3G) and optionally use
iCloud for syncing your stuff instead of iTunes.

------
badclient
It will be hard to find a press release that has more feature-related buzz
words than this:

 _CUPERTINO, California―March 19, 2012―Apple® today announced it has sold
three million of its incredible new iPad®, since its launch on Friday, March
16. The new iPad features a stunning new Retina™ display, Apple’s new A5X chip
with quad-core graphics, a 5 megapixel iSight® camera with advanced optics for
capturing amazing photos and 1080p HD video, and still delivers the same all-
day 10 hour battery life while remaining amazingly thin and light. iPad Wi-Fi
+ 4G supports ultrafast 4G LTE networks in the US and Canada, and fast
networks around the world including those based on HSPA+ and DC-HSDPA._

Then again, it's Apple so it doesn't matter :)

------
zackzackzack
Today would be a good day to own stock in AAPL, methinks.

~~~
ebaysucks
A great business does not necessarily imply a great investment.

~~~
enoptix
I think in this case, it does.

------
solsenNet
what's the asp on ipad2s?

$750 per?

$2.25B in revenue in a weekend. not bad.

~~~
2arrs2ells
ASP for iPads has been ~$600 in the past. It might drop a bit, now that Apple
has lowered the entry price point (or could rise, as LTE pulls more people
away from WiFi only).

$1.8B in revenue in a weekend, still not bad :P

~~~
kenrikm
It costs them around $300 (Can't say exactly, however the LTE version was
pegged at $330, could be less depending on volume deals) they are making a
sizable portion of that 1.8bil in net profit.

~~~
thehigherlife
cost of parts for the device != cost to manufacture/design device

~~~
kenrikm
You're of course right and that's why I said "A sizable portion" ;)

------
AJ007
Does anyone else find high resolution text alongside up-scaled graphics (both
in app and on the web) obnoxious?

