Apple today announced that it sold over 300,000 iPads in the USA as of midnight Saturday, April 3rd. These sales included deliveries of pre-ordered iPads to customers, deliveries to channel partners and sales at Apple Retail Stores. Apple also announced that iPad users downloaded over one million apps from Apple's App Store and over 250,000 ebooks from its iBookstore during the first day.
"It feels great to have the iPad launched into the world - it's going to be a game changer. iPad users, on average, downloaded more than three apps and close to one book within hours of unpacking their new iPad."
Steve Jobs, Apple CEO
Following much of the news stories over the weekend, you would be forgiven for thinking the Apple iPad was a dedicated e-reader device like the Kindle from Amazon. I'm not entirely sure Apple banked on this understandable misconception. If the iPad is to prove a global success as a multi use touchscreen device, it will have to win over a great deal of non-book reading customers. At a writing event this weekend I asked about twenty avid writers what the iPad was and at least three quarters immediately chirped 'Oh, it's the latest thing for reading eBooks.' Right, but also kinda wrong!
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