iPad 2 sells 1M units, analysts say

If the numbers are correct, that would mean the iPad 2 sold 3X as many units as the original iPad

There has been much speculation as to how many iPad 2s have sold over the weekend. If the hyped chaos was anything to go by, you would assume that customers razed stores and ate the employees in their ravenous, ravenous hunger. To show how greedy Apple customers truly are, analysts from Wedbush Securities are estimating that some one million iPad 2s sold over the weekend, Reuters reports. 

"We would not be surprised to see Apple sell closer to one million iPad2s in the opening weekend," said Wedbush Securities analyst Scott Sutherland.

By comparison, the original iPad took one full month to reach one million units sold, and in its first week, it sold approximately 450-500,000.  

Many analysts had predicted that Apple would sell around 400,000 iPad 2s on opening weekend. Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster raised his estimate to 500,000 as reports emerged of Best Buys running out of iPad 2s and their accessories in the first 10 minutes of opening their doors. One New York college student who was at the front of the line for the iPad 2 reportedly sold her spot for $900. 

Global Equities Research analyst Trip Chowdhry estimates that 60% of the iPad 2 buyers were upgrading from the original iPad, while 40% were first-time buyers. Chowdhry noted that all of the buyers have previously purchased an Apple product.

This contrasts somewhat against Gene Munster's report, which estimates that 70% of buyers are first-time iPad owners. Researchers from piper Jaffray interviewed 236 people waiting in lines in New York City and Minneapolis for the iPad 2, and they found that the majority did not previously own an iPad, but 65% own an iPhone. Interestingly, 24% of those surveyed by Piper Jaffray said they own a Kindle, and of those respondents, 37% said their new iPad 2 will be replacing their Kindle. 

"We believe this shows Apple is expanding its base of iPad users, which is critical to maintaining its early lead in the growing tablet market," said Munster. "As the user base grows Apple's lead widens, and the company has a proven track record of building unmatched brand loyalty, which we believe will be a potent combination as the tablet market evolves."

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