Apple Says It Moved 300,000 iPads On SaturdayApple Says It Moved 300,000 iPads On Saturday

A press release from Apple hit the wires this morning, trumpeting the company's first-day sales of the iPad. It says on Saturday alone, 300,000 were delivered to those who pre-ordered in addition to those that were sold in Apple stores.Estimates of first-weekend sales of the iPad are all over the map. Many are guessing between 500,000 and 700,000 units were sold. Apple announced sales, but not for the entire weekend. It is announcing only what it sold on Saturday, April 3. That number is 300,000.

In addition to the 300,000 units sold on Saturday, new iPad owners downloaded over 1 million applications from the iTunes Store, and another 250,000 ebooks were downloaded. In other words, each iPad owner downloaded about three applications and about one book. I downloaded closer to 20 applications. Did I help skew the results?

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Despite the actual numbers, I think the app and ebook downloads encapsulate perfectly what the iPad is meant for -- delivering content. Analysts believe that Apple sold up to a whopping 700,000 iPads on opening weekend. Apple hasn't shared sales figures for Sunday, April 4, but I have a hard time believing more iPads were sold Sunday rather than Saturday.

"It feels great to have the iPad launched into the world -- it's going to be a game changer," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO, in a prepared statement. "iPad users, on average, downloaded more than three apps and close to one book within hours of unpacking their new iPad."