Apple estimated to have sold 90,000 iPads on first day

While many pondered whether or not to buy the device, on the whole, iPad fans rushed to place orders.

So much was the excitement that Apple managed to register an estimated 91,000 sales in just first six hours via pre-order, according to analyst Victor Castroll from the Valcent Financial Group and AAPL.

Estimating the numbers, Phanfare CEO and Co-founder Andrew Erlichson wrote in his blog that they brought two iPads “about 30 minutes apart” and their “order IDs are 10,000 apart.”

“Assuming those order IDs are sequential, and they appear to be, then Apple is selling 20,000 iPads per hour,” added Erlichson.

Will iPad record strong sales?
Since Apple’s Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs’ announcement of the device in late January, iPad has become the trending topic on various blogs and forums.

If the numbers are anything to go by, analysts predict Apple to sell five million iPad units this year.

Jobs touted the tablet as a “magical product” which would revolutionize the way people surf Internet, watch videos, play games, and read books, all on one platform.

But there are many techies who criticized iPad, saying that the device has failed to live up to consumers’ expectations as it lacks basic features.

Though many doubt the success of the iPad, the preorder numbers estimated so far tell a different story. If the numbers are anything to go by, analysts predict Apple to sell five million iPad units this year.

Many voice unwillingness
Though Apple fans may be eagerly waiting for the tablet, there are many who have taken to discussion boards stating they will wait for better devices to be launched in the market.

A reader named ritchard_mckie7 commented on tuaw.com, “I'll wait 'till a new version can play flash video or buy another brands device.”

Another reader named captainconfuzzled stated on mashable.com, “It appears that they've tried to pimp it as an ereader, web browser, movie watching and app running (games) device.

“Without Flash though it's weak for web browsing and kills you for watching movies outside of using itunes to load a movie to your device. And for gaming? Meh, this is not the gaming machine it's been hyped to be.”

Engadget poll
Engadget is conducting a poll, asking its tech-savvy readers whether they would like to buy Apple’s upcoming tablet.

The result as of writing this story: Only 18.8 percent of the 66751 respondents said yes, they would like to buy iPad.

28.4 percent voted that they will not buy iPad so soon, and 25.2 said that they were waiting for HP’s slate.

Further, 11 percent said that they were holding out for a Chrome OS tablet and nearly 16 percent asked, “What’s an iPad?”