Apple Expected to Sell at Least 500,000 iPad 2s This Weekend

[Michael Essany]

As the MMi crew and company join the broad Apple customer base today in anticipation of the iPad 2's arrival later today, there's no shortage of interesting projections emerging this afternoon with regard to just how big this debut weekend could be for Apple's second generation tablet.

Watching the stock ticker above my office door, shares of Apple are presently trading $4.49 higher @ $351.16 as both hype for Apple's new product and Wall Street expectations are certainly lighting a fire beneath the stock. Analyst Brian Marshall of Gleacher & Co. tells Bloomberg that more than 500,000 units of the iPad 2 will be sold this weekend, on its way to out-selling the original iPad, which only moved a relatively paltry 300,000 units in its debut one year ago.

Prominent Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster - who happens to have a largely positive track record predicting Apple product sales and subsequent earnings - says Apple will sell between 5 and 6 million iPad 2s during the present launch quarter, topping the 3 million first generation iPads sold during its 2010 launch quarter. Helping Apple tremendously on this front is a combination of factors poised to make the iPad 2 a sure-fire success. Among the factors are generally positive user experiences relating to the original iPad, the new concerted retail push by Apple and its partners, and the positive reaction from tech analysts who believe the improvements made to the iPad 2 make it the premium tablet on the market today.

Source: Bloomberg

[RICO_]

That's it? Half a mil?

Or better yet how many people would actually realize that this is NOT a significant enough upgrade to warrant upgrading from a 1 yr old iPad.....hence causing a weaker debut? Probably nobody.

[D to the M]

To some some people it is. I am. Since the upgrade would cost 200 after selling first iPad for 300

[bluesummer]

when u factor in the resell value of current iPad + cost of apple care (piece of mind if you want to keep the original iPad) the upgrade cost is really insignificant

[wolverinemarky]

wish i was picking one up today

[steve-z17]

I think Apple will do pretty good on sales, no doubt.

[TheOrioles33]

this is NOT a significant enough upgrade to warrant upgrading from a 1 yr old iPad

Really? Dual core, 9X faster graphics, front and rear camera and double the ram? What the heck were you expecting?

[RICO_]

Really? Dual core, 9X faster graphics, front and rear camera and double the ram? What the heck were you expecting?

Oh okay. So now we will be able to load web pages and programs a few seconds faster. Because waiting those extra few seconds is just outrageous.

How crappy was the previous graphics processor to need 9x the speed to have a decent gaming experience?

Double the RAM? If you're doing the amount of work that is THAT RAM intensive then an iPad probably isn't the device you should be using.

[seann33uk]

they would have more this weekend if they allowed us UKians to Preorder :/

[daytonaviolet]

i think rico is right. i have a lot of friends with ipad 1 and they arent upgrading any time soon. most likely, these 500k units are going to at least 250k new owners.

[TheOrioles33]

Oh okay. So now we will be able to load web pages and programs a few seconds faster. Because waiting those extra few seconds is just outrageous.

How crappy was the previous graphics processor to need 9x the speed to have a decent gaming experience?

Double the RAM? If you're doing the amount of work that is THAT RAM intensive then an iPad probably isn't the device you should be using.

There are plenty of apps that can benefit from more RAM and a better GPU.

I'm actually one of the people will not be upgrading from the 1st gen. Not yet anyways.

So what would make upgrading worthy to you? Just curious.

[z3r01]

Posting from my iPad 2

[ruffian]

To anybody that has an iPad2 or that has been in a store to purchase one, are the 3G and white versions available or are they delayed?

[Maylene]

There are plenty of apps that can benefit from more RAM and a better GPU.

I'm actually one of the people will not be upgrading from the 1st gen. Not yet anyways.

So what would make upgrading worthy to you? Just curious.

I think just the addition of a higher resolution display would have made the Ipad 2 MUCH more enticing. All the upgrades PLUS Retina Display would have been enough for me to upgrade. The display is the deal killer for me. The original Ipad has a nice display, don't get me wrong. After being spoiled by the retina, there's no other option for me. A higher resolution is needed.

[delusion950]

Great

[XiOS]

That's it? Half a mil?

Or better yet how many people would actually realize that this is NOT a significant enough upgrade to warrant upgrading from a 1 yr old iPad.....hence causing a weaker debut? Probably nobody.

I agree! I just got my iPad 3G 64GB, I am very happy with it, all the features I need. OOOOOOO I don't have a camera, big whoop, I hate pictures. The iPad2 does not offer anything really exasperating to warrant an upgrade.

[XiOS]

I think just the addition of a higher resolution display would have made the Ipad 2 MUCH more enticing. All the upgrades PLUS Retina Display would have been enough for me to upgrade. The display is the deal killer for me. The original Ipad has a nice display, don't get me wrong. After being spoiled by the retina, there's no other option for me. A higher resolution is needed.

Absolutely, give iPad Retina, and then maybe we are getting close to having a reason to upgrade. But no worries sure bet we have iPad3 by next year, heck, maybe even by the winter holidays

[engelke2010]

The iPad 2 has enough upgraded for me to upgrade from iPad1. It's interesting all the infighting there us between those who think this is either iPad 1.5 or even 1.25 and those who are getting one today.

[RICO_]

So what would make upgrading worthy to you? Just curious.

First and foremost is the Retina Display.....on a device that size it would be HIGHLY enticing to alot of people. Also, depending on how much faster that A5 chip REALLY is compared to an A4....it may or may not be sufficient for me. They "claim" up to 2X the performance....but usually when a company throws the words "up to" in the mix....the average speed increase is noticeably less than what it is capable of going up to. So an actual detailed comparison test would be nice between the iPad and iPad2.

So what that they try to entice people with the fact that it's 8mm thick vs 13.4 of the original iPad. Is that really a big deal to most people? I mean really....is it?.....we're talking MILLImeters here. And the 15% lighter weight isn't much either. Most people aren't gonna mind or be able to tell the difference between something that is 3.6 ounces lighter than its predecessor. Something that is 5mm thicker and 3.6 ounces heavier isn't going to feel any more uncomfortable in the hands.

USB ports, SD slot, support for Flash enabled websites without having to jailbreak or download some 3rd party App would round out my list of features i would like to see. Alot of businesses and myself included rely heavily on Microsoft Windows operating system as well.

[sziklassy]

Hardware-wise it really is a pretty beefy upgrade. I think the reason most people aren't viewing it as such is because the new iPad doesn't do anything remarkably BETTER than its predecessor. The large difference here is that Apple didn't really launch a new version of iOS that gave the iPad 2 features that the origina iPad didn't have (outside of the picture taking of course). It's a little bit funny to me how people complain that Apple holds back on features to get more sales out of the next device, then those same people are stating this new device is not worth getting because there aren't enouh new features.

I predict we will start seeing games that are iPad 2 only or "optimised for iPad 2" in the future, possibly when we get a new iPhone with a beefed up processor and maybe ram. While app devs could certainly start utilizing more of what's under the hood now, I simpl don't see it as being economical enough for most of them, as they are limiting themselves to only one of Apple's slew of touch devices.