When the iPad 2 launches Friday, it should see even higher sales than when the first iPad debuted, but shorter lines, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster tells clients in a note, as reported by “AppleInsider” (http://www.appleinsider.com).
The original iPad launched at 221 U.S. Apple retail stores and most of Best Buy’s 1,000-plus American stores in 2010. Munster says the iPad 2 will debut at more than 10,000 stores of retail partners in addition to 236 current Apple retail stores. The second generation tablet will also go on sale in the U.S. Friday at Walmart, Target, and AT&T and Verizon stores.
Munster expects the new model to outsell its predecessor, which reached a million sales in just 28 days. “Generally, the length of the lines at Apple retail stores on launch day have been a helpful early indication of demand,” he says. “However, factors like online pre-orders, simultaneous international launches, weather, timing in the day and the day of the week can all impact a consumer’s willingness to go stand in line, but may not necessarily be indicative of immediate purchase intentions.”
