Interesting iPad Facts

So, you are sick of hearing about Apple’s iPad? Well this list “cuts to the chase” and tells you the top 10 facts you ought to know whether purchasing an iPad one now, later, or never. The iPad will be available on Saturday, April 3; however, not all versions will be available immediately. WIFI only will be available and 3G wireless will be arriving at a later date. With that in mind, here are your top 10 most important iPad facts:

1. The iPad isn't a phone, and it's not exactly a computer. It's a touchscreen device for consuming media in all its forms: video, music, the Web, electronic books and magazines, and video games.
2. The Wi-Fi-only version of the iPad will be for sale starting Saturday. A different model, which will have Wi-Fi and 3G access, won't be ready until late April.
3. The Wi-Fi model comes in three different storage capacities: 16GB of memory for $499, 32GB for $599, and 64GB for $699. Buying the 3G version tacks $129 on to each.
4. The accessory most likely to inspire envy among iPhone owners--the iPad keyboard dock--is delayed until May.
5. The 10W USB power adapter that will charge the iPad from an electrical outlet is available in mid-April-but if you search around there are plenty more options from third-party vendors should you want one right away.
6. There's no physical keyboard or stylus included. That is, unless you connect it to the keyboard dock or a wireless Bluetooth keyboard.
7. Books will be an initial focus of the device.
8. There's no Web cam on the iPad.
9. You can't edit Microsoft Word documents or watch Flash videos. That means you won't be able to watch Hulu.
10. One of the most attractive features of the iPad is its relatively large screen (9.7 inches) compared to the iPhone and iPod Touch (3.2 inches).

iPad: 50,000 sales in 2 hours, Apple TV bumped, mysterious app icon

The introduction of the iPad Friday morning sold an estimated 50,000 units in two hours, and also bumped Apple's "hobby," the Apple TV, from the front page of its online store. Also, a mysterious icon included in iPad promotional pictures gains attention, and Apple has expanded its site to explain features of the coming hardware in greater detail.

iPad sales estimated at 25,000 per hour

After it went on sale at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Friday, the iPad is estimated to have sold 51,000 in its first two hours. As discovered by Philip Elmer-DeWitt at Fortune Brainstorm Tech, users at the Investor Village AAPL Sanity Board took their order numbers and attempted to crack the code to figure out total sales.

Victor Castroll, analyst with Valcent Financial Group and member of the AAPL Sanity Board, has been monitoring the spreadsheet and came up with the calculation of 51,000 units in the first two hours.

iPad preorder bumps Apple TV from front page of online store

In accepting preorders for the iPad on Friday, Apple made some minor adjustments to the front page of its online store. As a result, the Apple TV product and its accompanying picture were bumped and are no longer featured atop the store's main page.

The Apple TV used to be featured prominently alongside the company's line iPods, the iPhone and Macs. Now users must scroll down and find it in the left column under the "For iPod" heading.

Last month, Apple Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook said his company still views the Apple TV as a "hobby," and noted that sales of the product simply don't compare to the consumer markets for smartphones, computers and MP3 players. Cook said he doesn't believe the Apple TV will remain dormant, but it may take time for the potential market for the device to grow.

"Because our gut says something is there, we're continuing to invest in this," Cook said. "But today, it's still just a hobby."

Last October, Apple released the 3.0 software update for Apple TV, featuring a redesigned main menu that made navigating content simpler and faster. It also added support for the new iTunes LP and iTunes Extras formats.

Mysterious app icon gains attention

Apple updated its Web site with new pictures of the iPad Friday, and one screenshot in particular garnered attention from readers due to its inclusion of a mysterious icon. Included on the home screen Web page, the picture shows an icon on the far right of the device in landscape mode, and the application is not shown in any other screenshots.

Though the text is too small to read clearly, the icon appears to show the logo for the publication National Geographic. It's likely that the icon is for a digital version of the magazine, to be sold through Apple's iBookstore.

Apple expands on iPad features

As preorders began Friday, Apple also fleshed out the official iPad section of its Web site, adding greater detail on the iBooks application, 3G data subscriptions with AT&T, and more.

As before, all of the built-in applications on the iPad have their own page describing their function. Apple also has special dedicated pages for the iBooks application, which must be downloaded from the App Store, as well as the $9.99 Keynote, Pages and Numbers software.

A page devoted to 3G access on the iPad describes how users can start and cancel a no-contract data plan with AT&T direct from the device at any time. As was revealed at the product's unveiling, the data plans run $15 per month for 250MB of data, or $30 per month for unlimited access.

Apple also updated its total number of applications available on the App Store to 150,000. When the iPad was first announced, the company advertised that more than 140,000 applications would be available for the device at launch.

iPad Sales Set to Double Estimates

According to Bloomberg, sales of iPad in its debut weekend is likely to be double what was originally estimated.

Piper Jaffray predicted 200,000 to 300,000 units would be sold. Sanford C. Bernstein & Company predicted 300,000 to 400,000. However, the first day has seen an estimated 700,000 of the tablets out the door. (See ReadWriteWeb's ongoing coverage of the iPad launch.)

"Lines at five stores surveyed by Piper Jaffray were longer than expected," Bloomberg reportered, "yet Apple had iPads available yesterday evening, signaling the company was able to produce enough devices to fulfill initial demand."

With a starting price of $499, the first weekend will have brought in approximately $350,000,000 retail. Trefis predicted on Forbes that the iPad debut would result in a 2% increase in Apple stock, but long-term rise may depend on the success of its apps offering. Apple closed on Friday, according to NASDAQ, at $235.97.

This in itself was an all-time high for the stock, according to the San Jose Mercury News, "thanks more to rumors about the iPhone than anticipation for Saturday's iPad debut."