Apple sells 300,000 iPads on first day of sale

Apple Inc has sold over 3,00,000 iPads in the United States on its first day of sale and the IT giant's CEO Steve Jobs termed the new product as a 'game changer'.

"These sales included deliveries of pre-ordered iPads to customers, deliveries to channel partners and sales at Apple Retail Stores," Apple said in a statement on Monday.

"It feels great to have the iPad launched into the world -- it's going to be a game changer," Apple CEO Steve Jobs said.

However, media reports stated that sales of the much-hyped multimedia tablet computer fell short of expectations of analysts.

According to The Wall Street Journal, "analysts on average had expected first-day iPad sales of 400,000 to 500,000 units. Some analysts, such as Piper Jaffray and Gene Munster, had even higher sales projections of 600,000 to 700,000 units."

Apple said in the statement that iPad users downloaded over one million applications from Apple's App Store and over 250,000 e-books from its iBookstore during the first day.

"iPad users, on average, downloaded more than three apps and close to one book within hours of unpacking their new iPad," Jobs said.

Meanwhile, few reports have also claimed that some users had problems connecting to wi-fi networks.

"New owners posted comments on Apple forums saying that their iPad had little or no wi-fi signal, where other devices worked fine," British daily The Times said in a report.

Another daily, the New York Times quoted an analyst as saying that, "because Apple is hoping to popularise a new kind of computing device, one that combines elements of a laptop and smartphone, acceptance among consumers is likely to be slower than with previous Apple devices."

The report also stated that some buyers may be waiting for future versions of the iPad, perhaps with a camera or other new features.

The WSJ stated that Apple has also said that it would hold a special event on Thursday for 'a sneak peak' of the next-generation iPhone operating system, which runs on the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad.

Apple watchers expect the new operating system to offer new features and more closely integrate iPad functions, the report said.