Apple said Monday it sold 3 million of its new iPads since Friday, when the tablet became available.
“The new iPad is a blockbuster with 3 million sold -- the strongest iPad launch yet,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing, in a statement.
In addition to the U.S., the tablet went on sale Friday in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Switzerland and the US Virgin Islands. This Friday, it becomes available in 24 more countries, including Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Mexico, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.
When the original version of the iPad went on sale in April 2010, Apple said it sold more than 300,000 on the first day. It ended up selling more than 15 million in the first nine months.
Since then, more than 55 million of the tablets have been sold worldwide. Pricing starts at $499 for the 16GB, Wi-Fi only version; the most-expensive version, at $829, has 64GB and comes with Wi-Fi and 4G/LTE connectivity.
AT&T, which along with Verizon Wireless offers cellular connectivity for the iPad, said earlier Monday that it "set a new single-day record for its iPad sales and activations, demonstrating robust demand for the new iPad." The carrier did not share sales figures, however.
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