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June 24, 2021

iPad sales trends suggest tablet is the real deal

Like anything that comes attached with insatiable hype, the smart consumer waits and sees.

Time weeds out the weak products (the Segway) and reaffirms the strong ones (Stephen Strasburg).

And the iPad, which arrived on Canadian store shelves last month with the reputation it could both change the PC market and cure diseases, continues to look more and more like it belongs in that second group.

After a strong first month in stores, the iPad quickly sold one million units, needing only 28 days to pull off the milestone. But while a torrid opening was to be expected for something as heralded as Apple’s tablet, the most staggering number is this:

Sales for the iPad have now reached about 3.5 million units, though the latest million tablets needed only 22 days to fly off shelves.

In other words, according to the Financial Post, the iPad’s sales are actually increasing  several months after it debuted in U.S. stores in April.

Now, of course, there are a few reasons for this discrepancy in sales figures.

For starters, the iPad wasn’t released in Canada until the end of May, meaning this latest million tablets sold likely includes many Canuck buyers having their first crack at the device.

And then there is the issue of 3G. The first batch of iPads sold were only Wi-Fi enabled, meaning Apple didn’t roll out tablets equipped with 3G until about one month later. It was well documented that potential buyers might wait out the Wi-Fi models until the 3G units arrived.

But all that considered, the iPad’s accelerated numbers might simply signal that the device is worthy of its hype. After a few months in stores, a time frame that would’ve allowed everyone and their mother to at least hear the device stunk had it disappointed consumers, it seems time has only rewarded the iPad’s ingenuity.

If the touch-screen device wasn’t the real deal, we certainly wouldn’t be buying the thing faster than we did when it first came out.

And if you’re scoring at home, this is only bad news for rival companies that hoped to ride out the iPad wave and offer tablet PC alternatives when the hype died down.

Turns out that could a take while still.

By Jason Buckland, MSN Money

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Gordon PowersGordon Powers

A long-time fund company executive, Gordon Powers now heads up the Affinity Group, a financial services consulting firm. Gordon was a personal finance columnist for the Globe & Mail for many years, has taught retirement planning...

Jason BucklandJason Buckland

The modern-day MC Hammer of money, Jason can often be seen spending cash that isn’t his with the efficiency of a Wilt Chamberlain first date. After cutting his teeth as a reporter for the Toronto Sun, he joined the MSN Money team with...