Analyst: iPad to become ‘measurably larger’ than entire PC market

In a note to clients — as reported by “AppleInsider” (http://www.appleinsider.com) — Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster says sales of the new iPad (over three million in four days) show sales of the tablet are ramping at an accelerated rate of 156% year-over-year. This puts the iPad in a position to become “measurably larger” than the PC market as a whole.

Munster thinks Apple will sell 12 million iPads in the current March quarter. In comparison, the iPad saw 111% year-over-year growth in the December 2011 quarter.

The analyst thinks Apple will dominate the tablet market through at least the next three years. Munster predicts that Apple will sell 66 million iPads in calendar year 2012, growing to 176 million in calendar 2015.