Apple has sold more than two million of its iPads in under 60 days, a sign demand for the tablet device is not slowing. The Cupertino, Calif. company also acknowledged it was having difficulty keeping up with the fast-moving sales amid reports of short supplies.
“Customers around the world are experiencing the magic of iPad, and seem to be loving it as much as we do,” CEO Steve Jobs announced Monday. “We appreciate their patience, and are working hard to build enough iPads for everyone.”
Apple could be on track to sell 35,700 iPad per day, according to some reports.
Apple also announced it would begin shipping iPads to Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK. More than a third of International stores reported shortages on Monday, up from 29 percent on Friday, according to Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster. IPad supplies are “limited and declining” he told investors.
Of the 11 UK stores Munster called Monday, 36 percent reported no available Wi-Fi versions of the iPad. That is an increase over Friday, when 29 percent of stores in Japan, Australia, France, Germany and the UK reported no inventory of either the Wi-Fi or 3G iPad.
Although the international iPad shortage is climbing, it isn’t close to the 74 percent of low inventory Munster found in the U.S. 48 days after the tablet device was launched.
“We caution investors to keep iPad expectations in check given our domestic and international checks suggest supply is low,” he wrote Monday. In July, the iPad will begin shipping to nine more countries.
Despite reports of shortages, Munster raised his iPad sales estimate for 2010 to 6.2 million, up from 4.3 million. In a similar move, Kaufman Bros. analyst Shaw Wu increased his sales estimate for June to 2.7 million, up slightly from 2 million.
Shortages in the U.S. prompted Apple to delay international shipments for a month. On May 3, the Cupertino, Calif. consumer electronics maker announced it had sold one million iPads — 500,000 during the first week the tablet was available to consumers.
[via Barrons, Fortune and AppleInsider]
