Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) announced that sales of its iPad tablet have gone above tw0 million less than 60 days after the product was launched on April 3. Late last week, the company released the iPad in Japan and a day later in France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK. The product sells for an average of about $600, which means revenue from the product could already be more than $1 billion

“Customers around the world are experiencing the magic of iPad, and seem to be loving it as much as we do,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We appreciate their patience, and are working hard to build enough iPads for everyone.”

The iPad is yet another major success for the company which began its leadership in the consumer electronics business in 2001 with the introduction of the iPod. The multimedia device has sold over 250 million units. And the Mac, Apple’s original flagship, has continued to sell well–as many as 2.8 million a quarter. The iPhone has sold more than 50 million units since being introduced. Apple is expected to release a 4G version next week.

Apple’s shares have moved from $12 in 2000 to $272 recently. The company is the second largest traded on any US exchange by market cap, at $234 billion, which puts it behind only Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM).

In its fiscal second quarter, which ended March 22, Apple had revenue of $13.50 billion and net quarterly profit of $3.07 billion, or $3.33 per share. This compared to revenue of $9.08 billion and net quarterly profit of $1.62 billion, or $1.79 per share, in the year-ago quarter. For the quarter, Apple sold 2.94 million Macintosh computers, a 33% unit increase over the year-ago quarter. It sold 8.75 million iPhones, a 131% increase, and 10.89 million iPods.

Several PC companies plan tablet PCs including Dell (NASDAQ: DELL), Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ), and Asus. It may be too little too late for these companies as it was with rivals to the iPhone and iPod.

Douglas A. McIntyre

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