iPad sales likely to outpace original iPhone

With an estimated 200,000 iPads already pre-ordered, analysts believe that there could be more iPads sold in its first quarter than the 1.12 million iPhones sold in its first quarter.

The 200,000 iPad prediction is the number of iPads already sold through Apple online pre-orders, but doesn’t include those that people have reserved at physical Apple stores. And according to a source at Boy Genius Report, each Apple store already has roughly 700 iPad in-store reservations, with the exception of its flagship 5th Avenue New York City store, which has around 1,600 reservations. Apple has more than 200 retail stores in the US alone, and the iPad will also be sold through other select retail channels, meaning that the number of people who will likely buy an iPad is much more significant than the 200,000 who have pre-ordered through Apple.

Beyond pre-order sales, Electronista reported that some analysts claim the iPad will reach 1 million sales by mid-April, before the 3G version is even available for purchase in the US. While that number seems quite high, with pre-orders numbers continuing to rise, it seems feasible that the iPad will have no trouble passing the 1.12 million mark the iPhone set in its first quarter.

Though the iPad isn’t solely an e-reader, in comparison, Amazon’s Kindle reportedly took two years to break through 3 million sales.