Apple sells 3 million iPads

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How many iPads can Apple sell in three months?

Three million, to be exact.

Apple Inc. announced it had reached the 3-million mark on Monday, just 80 days after its launch in the US. The touch-screen tablet computer that boasts more than 200,000 apps blew past analysts’ expectations even in its first month when it sold 1 million, and the 3-million mark seems to suggest there is no slowing it down.

“People are loving iPad as it becomes a part of their daily lives,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s chief executive, in a statement. “We’re working hard to get this magical product into the hands of even more people around the world, including those in nine more countries next month.”

The news came as iPad competitors Amazon’s Kindle and Nook slashed its e-reader prices Monday by 25%, both dropping to just under $200. The iPad starts at $499.

But it seems price isn’t an issue when it comes to some of the hottest, and coolest, pieces of technology on the market, said Richard Doherty, analyst at Envisioneering Group.

‘It’s fashionable and it’s ‘in’ and it’s less geeky than a keyboard,’ he said. ‘It’s the new definition of ‘it.’ ‘

Doherty said that at this rate he expected sales to far surpass his original prediction of 5 million to 8 million within a year. And if there’s anyone who returned an iPad, he’d like to meet them, he said.

According to a Reuters article, the iPad also is sold in Canada, Japan, Australia, Italy, France and Germany and is expected to launch in nine additional markets in July.

-- Kristena Hansen