Is the iPad helping or hurting the Mac? No one is quite sure | Ars Technica

2022-07-02 02:53:14 By : Mr. ZHAO BO

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Jeff Smykil - May 20, 2010 10:11 pm UTC

Apple is supposedly selling an astounding 200,000 iPads per week in the US, a number that is leaving current weekly Mac sales in the dust. This bold claim was made by analyst Mike Abramsky of RBC Capital Markets in a note sent to investors Thursday (seen by Apple Insider). The estimate puts the iPad in front of Apple’s Mac line, estimated to be selling 110,000 units per week in the US, but behind the iPhone 3GS which, during the first quarter of 2010, was selling about 246,000 units per week.

Abramsky also claims that over 25 percent of all brick-and-mortar Apple Stores in the US are currently “allocating to waiting lists" for the iPad. What little stock stores do have seems to be WiFi-only units. It is currently unclear whether the iPad shortage is due to extreme demand or if Apple is stockpiling units for its May 28 international launch. The same analyst believes that Apple currently has already presold 600,000 units in countries that will see a summer iPad launch.

Abramsky believes that the iPad will cannibalize 25 percent of Apple's other products, although it is unclear whether that cannibalization will be from just Macs, or iPhone and iPods as well. Regardless, he claims that Apple will see increased revenue because of the new device. Like Steve said, it's better for Apple to cannibalize itself than let someone else do the job first.

News of cannibalization could be premature however, at least according to findings presented by the online advertising firm Chitka. The company saw an almost 3 percentage point rise in Mac OS Web traffic last month. There could be a number of different explanations for this increase, but Chitka indicates that it may be due to the "iPad effect." That is, users being inspired by their iPads to go out and buy a Mac.

Although it's too early to tell whether that's the case, one thing we can be certain of is that the iPad is popular. 

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