Apple sold 300,000 iPads on day one

Not a lot to shout about

Apple said it sold more than 300,000 iPads on its first day on sale in the US.

The firm included pre-orders delivered or collected on Saturday in the total number, meaning sales were a bit limp, considering the media frenzy the device has generated.

Steve Jobs thinks the iPad a game-changer. Many have agreed with him, but the evidence is thin on the ground. A tablet computer is nothing new but Apple hopes its time is now.

Apple is flogging the $499 wi-fi enabled iPad now and will later this month deliver the more expensive cellular version. Fanbois queued up to be amongst the first to get their sweaty palms around the device, but it seems more news stories were written about the launch than actual units sold.

The pad is a device looking for a job to do. Apple said users downloaded more than one million applications and 250,000 e-books to teh device on the first day.

The firm thinks it could sell as many as 10 million iPads this year, but with cheaper more competent devices rapidly coming on line it will have its work cut out.

Apple shares were up $1.40, or 0.6 per cent, at $237.37 around lunchtime today.