6 Apr 2010

First day iPad sales top 300,000

7:07 pm on 6 April 2010

Apple says it sold more than 300,000 iPad tablet computers on the first day of sales in the United States over the weekend.

Figures for Saturday included pre-orders of the device, as well as sales at Apple stores across the country.

However, queues were reportedly considerably smaller than the crowds which gathered for the iPhone's debut in July 2007.

The iPad is not yet available in other countries, but will be on sale in parts of Europe, Canada and Australia by the end of April.

It is retailing in the United States at $US499 - $US829. The BBC reports European prices have not yet been announced.

Apple said iPad users had downloaded more than one million applications from its app store and more than 250,000 electronic books.

The first generation model has wi-fi but not 3G connectivity.