AT&T announced that the new third-generation iPad exceeded all previous one-day sales and activation records this past Friday, the day it went on the market.
Straight from the press release:
On Friday, March 16, AT&T set a new single-day record for its iPad sales and activations, demonstrating robust demand for the new iPad on the nation’s largest 4G network, covering nearly 250 million people.
Oddly, AT&T didn’t provide any specifics as to how many iPads it sold. Analysts such as Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray pegged about a week ago that Apple should sell around, if not north of, one million units collectively on the first day of sales. The only other carrier in the U.S. to sell the new iPad, Verizon, hasn’t released any figures either, nor has the carrier even confirmed if it too set a new record on Friday.
Not only was it expected of Apple and the carriers to sell a record number of iPads for the sole reason that newer models traditionally outsell older models, but consider this: the third-generation iPad is an example of the first time Apple has ever put any real marketing muscle behind the tablet’s network capabilities. It’s the first time 4G LTE has ever been in any Apple product and before that, regular 3G connectivity on select models were never a flagship feature — at least not on the iPad.
Apple CEO Tim Cook acknowledged phenomenal demand for the new iPad, saying the company saw a “record weekend.” This was during his announcement earlier this morning that Apple would issue a stock dividend of $2.65 per share.