Apple ships a modest 300,000 iPads on opening day

SEATTLE - Apple Inc. said Monday that it delivered more than 300,000 iPads on its opening day, meeting expectations of some analysts while underscoring the challenges the company still faces marketing the device beyond early adopters.

The total seemed modest given the weeks of hype about the revolutionary nature of Apple's new touch-screen tablet device. It included pre-orders that were picked up or delivered Saturday and iPads sent to retail stores but not necessarily purchased.

Assuming most of the 300,000 iPads ended up in the hands of consumers Saturday, though, the figure is in line with the number of iPhones that Apple sold when the smart phone made its debut in June 2007. Apple sold 270,000 units during the first two days that was available, and 1.1 million more over the next three months.

The iPad is "off to a fantastic start," wrote Broadpoint Amtech analyst Brian Marshall, who forecast sales of $2.5 billion this year for the iPad. He had predicted Apple would sell 525,000 iPads in its debut.

Once the early excitement settles, Apple needs to persuade a broader swath of people to buy if it wants the iPad to follow the iPhone's successful trajectory. Many companies have tried to sell tablet computers before, but none has caught on with mainstream consumers.

Though Apple may need to work harder to persuade people to buy yet another device that serves many of the same purposes, there are eager takers in foreign markets where the device is not yet available.

A purchaser from the United Kingdom paid $5,500, more than 10 times the $499 asking price for the least-expensive iPad, according to eBay.

- Combined news services