Apple released its new touch screen tablet, the iPad 3, on March 16. They announced late today that the company has already sold more than 3 million new iPads since the launch. With those million being sold in just four days, this has become the Apple tablet’s most successful release to date. Earlier today, Apple CEO Tim Cook hinted at the mega-success of the launch without directly announcing any specific sales figures.
There are only a few small but significant differences that separate the iPad 3 from the iPad 2. But even though there were only a few upgrades, fans lined up for hours upon hours to be among the first with their hands on the new Apple product. In New York, for example, the Apple Store on fifth avenue harbored a line that stretched more than an entire city block.
So what exactly are the new features of the newest generation of the iPad? Perhaps the most buzzed about feature is the incredibly high pixel-count “retina display.” This favorable display screen technology was previously exclusive to the iPhone. The screen boasts 3.1 million pixels. That’s one million more than a standard 1080p high definition screen. Other features include a faster processor and a 4G radio.These technological differences also yield some new physical differences. The iPad 3 is somewhat thicker than its earlier counterparts.
During its launch weekend, the iPad 2 was only available for in-store purchase in the United States. The reach of this launch was significantly greater, with launches occurring in the United States, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, all on opening day. AT&T set a record for the most iPads sold in a single day, and come this Friday the iPad 3 will be available in over 24 more countries.
Last year, Apple earned over twenty billion dollars in revenue from the iPad alone, equaling a fifth of the company’s entire profit for 2011. According to the NDP group, Apple controls over 60% of the tablet market. It is amazing to think that that much money has been acquired by a product that did not even exist a little over two years ago. And although the iPad 3 is on its way to being a multi-billion dollar product, it is not without its criticisms. Some iPad 2 owners think that the jump in technology from their current model to the new model is not worth going out and buying another several hundred dollar product. However, it is clear that there are more than enough people who are willing to make the upgrade.