Apple's Blowout Weekend: Three Million iPads Sold

This morning, during the press conference to announce the company's stock buyback plans and the initiation of a dividend, Apple CEO Tim Cook mentioned a "record weekend" for the new iPad, but did not offer specifics. Fortunately for curious investors and consumers, the company has subsequently released this weekend's iPad sales numbers. Not surprisingly, the new iPad racked up blowout first weekend sales with Apple announcing that it sold 3 million iPads in its first three days on the market. Analysts project that this is roughly 3x as large as the smaller iPad 2 launch last year. “The new iPad is a blockbuster with three million sold―the strongest iPad launch yet,” said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “Customers are loving the incredible new features of iPad, including the stunning Retina display, and we can't wait to get it into the hands of even more customers around the world this Friday.” Apple's press release also states that: