In the latest earnings release (Nasdaq: AAPL) sold 12 million iPad 3's in just two weeks in the first quarter. Apple has sold 67M iPads overall since it launched and sold 30M iPads in the first quarter. Apple is just now launching the iPad 2 in China and this is a huge opportunity.
Meanwhile, AT&T and Verizon both struggled to meet their iPhone sales targets in the quarter. Apple is selling iPads just as fast as they can make them. The can't seem to manufacture enough to meet the demand. iPad sales estimates for the year are currently around 27 million and this number is undoubtedly too conservative. I can see AT&T selling more than 50 million iPads this year. Why, because 90% of the iPads being sold are WiFi only and it does not require an expensive carrier data plan.
Are consumers looking at the iPad screen of 10 inches vs 4 inches on iPhone as the new form factor for viewing content? What does this say about the importance of carriers selling and subsidizing phones?
