Demand for iPad in U.S., abroad far exceeding supply

PARIS — In the basement of the Louvre museum, the early line for Apple's iPad far surpassed that for entry to see the Mona Lisa.

Hundreds queued up at the Apple store in the Carrousel du Louvre shopping center in the museum complex, with staff cheering every purchase, as sales outside the United States of the tablet computer began Friday. In Sydney, Austrailia, fans braved the chill of the Southern Hemisphere autumn to be among the first to buy the device, while in Tokyo people waited for as long as 40 hours to make a purchase.

"I tried to buy one in Seattle when I was there about 15 days ago, but they were sold out; so I decided to wait till it came to Europe," said Julien Boidin, 28, who works for Microsoft in Paris and has an iPhone and a Macintosh computer. "I live in Normandy and commute for four hours a day. I needed something for the train ride."

Following the sale of 1 million of the devices in less than a month of its April 3 debut in the U.S., the iPad is now available in Australia, Canada, Japan and six European countries. The maker of the iPhone and iPod, which this week became the world's most valuable technology company, has popularized a new category of computer between a smartphone and a laptop. Apple may sell 8 million iPads this year, according to Royal Bank of Canada.

"The thing with Apple is it's not just a piece of technology, it's actually the whole experience," said Rahul Koduri, 22, an engineering student in Sydney, who arrived at 2 a.m. Thursday to be first in line. "They just fit into your lifestyle so well. There's no other product that does it."

Apple delayed the release of iPads outside the United States after underestimating demand at home. In Europe, the iPad will be available in Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and Britain.

Apple is betting the iPad, which starts at $618 in continental Europe — more than the $499 it sells for in the U.S. to reflect higher value-added taxes — will entice enough consumers willing to pay a premium over low-cost notebooks. Rivals such as Microsoft have failed to turn tablet computers into popular consumer devices.

Countries outside the U.S. are likely to account for 43 percent, or 3.5 million units, of iPad shipments this year, Mike Abramsky, an analyst at RBC in Toronto, wrote in a recent report. The U.S. will probably be the biggest market with 4.7 million units, followed by France with 805,000 and Britain, with 585,000, according to the report.

The iPad has a 9.7-inch touch-screen display that lets users view books, magazines, video, play games and surf the Internet.

Apple Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs said the company sold 1 million iPads in the first 28 days, compared with the 74 days the iPhone took to reach that mark. Apple said this month that demand continues to exceed supply.

In London, one customer said she doesn't expect such a huge rush for iPads as in the U.S.

"Americans are very good at hyping these things up; perhaps British people are a bit more wary," said Emily Dexter, 22, who works for a television production company. "I'm not going to buy one because I can't afford it."

The iPad's first wave of reviews praised its ability to deliver digital books and video quickly, saying it measures up well against other devices, including Seattle-based Amazon.com.'s Kindle e-book reader.

"To all those people who don't think they need one, I just want to say, 'You just wait and see,' " said Toru Iijima, a 39-year-old information-technology professional in Tokyo. "This is great for people who don't like computers. I want to get one for my grandparents and my child."

Analysts: iPhone's future is sunny

Apple may sell as many as 15 million iPhones in the quarter ending in September and up to 40 million in the current fiscal year as it ramps up manufacturing of a new version, according to Rodman & Renshaw Equity Research.

Production of the new model will approach 12 million units in the September quarter, said Ashok Kumar, an analyst with Rodman & Renshaw. Combined with the existing iPhone 3GS, overall sales may rise to 15 million units in the period, double the 7.4 million in the fourth quarter ended in September, he said. The increased volume could push iPhone sales in fiscal 2010 to 40 million units, more than double the 18 million of fiscal 2009.

Kumar said Apple is "on track" to release an iPhone that will work on the Verizon Wireless network in time for the holiday-shopping season in the U.S.

"Apple is close to achieving peak market share with its existing lineup of wireless carriers," Kumar said. "The only way to keep growing its iPhone business is to expand its relationships with other carriers and to become more carrier-agnostic."

Apple has sold the iPhone exclusively through AT&T in the U.S. since it first introduced the device in 2007. Apple sold 11 million iPhones in the six months ended in March. Kumar forecasts that iPhone sales in fiscal 2011 may rise to 60 million units.

Steve Jobs, Apple's chief executive officer, will address the company's Worldwide Developers Conference on June 7. Apple has previously used the event to debut new iPhone hardware.

— Bloomberg News