Apple may sell 400,000 iPads during the first week of accepting pre-orders for the tablet device, according to two reports Thursday. Apple may sell 200,000 iPads online by mid-Friday for delivery and an equal number destined for pick-up at Apple retail locations. The Cupertino, Calif. company said it will begin shipping iPads April 3.
“I think sometime during Friday, perhaps before noon, the counter should roll to 200,000 units pre-ordered,” Venezualan blogger and analyst Daniel Tello told Fortune Thursday. Tello, who goes by the online pseudonym Deagol, said Apple is averaging 10,000 pre-sales per day. The blogger’s estimates are the result of tracking order numbers submitted by volunteers since Mar. 12 when Apple opened its doors for pre-orders.
Another report, from Boy Genius, estimates Apple’s 222 U.S. retail locations averaged 700 in-store pick-up reservations during the first weekend of pre-orders, a number Fortune believes is “roughly” the same rate as online.
Earlier this week, we reported on several shipping delays that might keep some iPad accessories – such as keyboard docks and power adapters from being delivered until sometime in May.
[via Fortune and Boy Genius Report]