Needham & Company analyst Charlie Wolf raised his sales expectations for iPad 2 due to recent and overwhelming demand for the device since its US launch on March 11 and international launch on March 25. Lines are still forming at Apple stores all over the country, causing a rethink of previous sales forecasts.
Wolf raised his previous sales estimate for 2011 up to 30 million from a previous 20 million. The analyst also raised 2012 estimates to 40 million, up from 30 million as previously stated.
“Our expectation going into the March 11th launch of the iPad 2 in the U.S. was that it would be successful, but probably more subdued than the launch of the original iPad a year ago. The launch blew out our expectations.
“Our failure in forecasting iPad sales was one of imagination. Until the iPad 2, we questioned whether the device was for real or simply a fad. The iPad 2 launch disabused us of this notion.”
On the competitors, Wolf noted they may have missed the most alluring draw to the iPad, the software, not hardware. Apple has over 60,000 apps in the App Store written for iPad. Google’s Android Honeycomb operating system can only boast a few hundred apps written for its own system.
“In our view, Android’s problems go beyond the dearth of applications. The Honeycomb interface itself appears overly complex for the purpose it was intended — an intuitive, easy-to-use platform for running applications written for Android.”
Wolf also raised his Apple earnings estimate up by one dollar to $23.25, up from $22.25. 2012 sees an even better estimate raise for earnings at $27.35, up from $25.50.
Apple is trying to accommodate demand by allowing a new retailer to provide iPad sales. RadioShack is now offering the iPad 2 in 500 of its stores throughout the US.
iPad News Source: appleinsider.com
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