APPLE SOLD more than 300,000 iPads on the tablet computer’s first day in stores, a strong showing that roughly matched Wall Street forecasts and mirrored the iPhone’s debut in 2007.
Despite a solid opening weekend, which prompted several investment banks to raise their earnings and revenue forecasts, the bigger test will come later this year as consumers outside the company’s core fan base size up the iPad.
Questions remain about whether consumers will shell out $500 or more for a device that fits between a smartphone and a laptop, and which Apple hopes is pioneering a new class of device.
It hopes the sleek iPad, which hit Apple stores on Saturday, joins the iPod and the iPhone in its stable of successful consumer products, providing the next driver of growth as sales of its multimedia player and smartphone begin to moderate.
Should it take off, the iPad would not only provide a new market for component makers, but another platform for which software developers and content companies would hawk their wares.
Time will tell whether Apple has another bona fide hit on its hands, but media companies such as New York Times and News Corp are betting the iPad will erect a profitable bridge from print to digital content.
“The launch went pretty much as expected; it was well received,” said Shannon Cross of Cross Research. “There is widespread enthusiasm for the product, but it’s a new category, and it will take time for people to understand it.”
Apple has staked its formidable reputation on a 9.7-inch touchscreen tablet with no clear-cut case for use other than pure media consumption.
Rivals including Hewlett-Packard and Dell are preparing tablets of their own later this year, so consumers will have a range of choices, particularly in the crucial holiday period.
“From a bigger strategic picture, the iPad is a content gatherer for Apple; that’s what separates it from the others,” said Broadpoint Amtech analyst Brian Marshall.
“This has been a successful strategy for Apple in the past with iTunes,” the company’s online music store. Many analysts believe the company was likely to have sold 350,000 to 400,000 iPads for the weekend. A number of Apple stores in the US were closed for the Easter holiday on Sunday.
At least four brokerages lifted their full-year earnings estimates and price targets for Apple following the iPad launch.
JPMorgan raised its price target on Apple stock to $305 (€227) from $240; Kaufman Brothers increased it to $295 from $253; and Thomas Weisel Partners lifted its target to $280 from $270.
Susquehanna raised its target to $275 from $260, while Barclays kept its target unchanged at $285. – (Reuters)
