Apple shares rise as iPad sales top 2 million
SEATTLE — Shares of Apple Inc. jumped Tuesday after the company said iPads sales topped 2 million since the tablet computer launched almost two months ago.
THE SPARK: Apple gave the iPad sales update on Monday, after it started shipping iPads to nine new countries over the weekend. Earlier in May, the Cupertino, Calif.-based company had announced iPad sales had reached the 1 million mark after just 28 days on sale in the U.S.
THE BIG PICTURE: In the weeks before Apple's latest gadget went on sale, analysts and industry watchers wondered whether the iPad could be a hit among mainstream consumers — after all, many companies had tried and failed to get people excited about tablets in the past. So far, Apple has shown people are very interested the slim, keyboardless devices that can be used for a number of digital diversions, including surfing the Web, watching movies, reading electronic books and playing video games. Other consumer electronics companies are rushing to produce tablets of their own, but it has yet to be seen whether those devices will have the same allure.
THE ANALYSIS: The iPad is selling faster than many analysts expected. Shaw Wu of Kaufman Bros. wrote in a note to investors that he believes iPad sales were helped by the quick development of more than 5,000 iPad-specific apps that take advantage of the gadget's larger screen and faster processor. Wu said analysts were on average expecting 1.6 million to 1.7 million iPads sold by now.
Broadpoint AmTech analyst Brian Marshall wrote in a research note that he thinks the iPad will account for more than 10 percent of Apple's revenue in the April-June period; it took the iPhone two quarters to reach that mark.
SHARE ACTION: Apple's shares rose $7.41., or 2.9 percent, to $264.29 in afternoon trading.
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The Apple iPad is capable of reading, sending, and receiving .
Apple announced Monday that it has sold over two million , just two months after the device began shipping in the US and only days after its international launch.

Apple shares rose 2.9 percent (US$7.41) to US$264.29 Tuesday afternoon. Market analysts also upped price targets and sales estimates in response to the announcement. Shares for , who provides data plans for the iPad, also rose yesterday.

Prior to the iPad's April 3 launch, many analysts had speculated about the viability and marketability of the device. However, iPad sales have been faster than anticipated. Although it was only expected to sell one million iPads for the whole quarter, Apple announced in early May that it had surpassed the one-million mark in just 28 days. It again surprised industry watchers, who were expecting about 1.6–1.7 million iPads to have been sold when Apple announced that it had passed the two-million mark. iPad sales may make up over ten percent of Apple's revenue this quarter, a feat that took the  twice as long to achieve. The iPad has been so popular and supplies of the tablet so low that Apple tried to place limits on the number of iPads a person can purchase earlier.

Apple had postponed sales of the iPad to Europe and Asia until last weekend due to strong demand for the tablet in the US. In addition to the US, it now sells the devices in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland, and the U.K., and will begin shipping iPads to Austria, Belgium, Hong Kong, Ireland, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, and Singapore in July.