Black Friday sales for iPhone iPad apps: Scrabble, Toy Story, more

Here’s an extra special post for the holiday! The holiday being Black Friday! Below are some apps that I thought were a great bargain for Black Friday sales. Happy app shopping!

Scrabble – word game addicts, get this before the price goes up! It’s Hasbro’s classic word game right on your iPhone. Play against the computer, your friend next to you, or even your Facebook friends. Add up points and aim to get the triple letters and triple words all across the board. The person with the most points at the end wins! But hurry, this sale won’t last long! You can play the free version as a Facebook app. iPhone/iPod Touch Version (99 cents) | iPad Version ($4.99)

Toy Story Mania – Come one, come all. Step right up and play the Disney-inspired game called Toy Story Mania! Just like the theme park ride, you’re taken to mini-games that are represented by their respective characters. Instead of pulling a string on a cannon, you swipe, shoot, flick, pop, and toss things at targets and gain points. There are 5 mini games which include: Hammin’ Eggs, Buzz Lightyears’ Flying Tossers, Bo Pee’s Baaa-loon Pop, Green Army Men Shoot Camp, and Woody’s Rootin’ Tootin’ Shootin’ Gallery. iPhone/iPod Touch Version (99 cents) | Full Review..

Shrek Forever After – Relive the fairy tale of Shrek! Here’s an adventure game based on the original movie. Shrek heads into the forest to retrieve all the kids birthday presents that Donkey dropped. He gets attacked by Robinhood and his merry men. Punch your way through to reach the next level where Rumpelstiltskin awaits! It’s a face moving game with beautiful graphics. A definite buy for any Shrek fan. Hurry, it’s only 99 cents today so get it soon!
iPad Version (99 cents) | iPhone/iPod Touch Version ($4.99)

Alice in Wonderland – if you’re an Alice fan, this is a must. This adventure puzzle game was inspired by Tim Burton’s film. Help Alice get through various mazes, finding all of her looking-glass friends. Collect shards of mirror pieces and help her get back home. Normally $4.99. iPhone/iPod Touch Version (99 cents) | iPhone/iPod Touch Lite Version (Free)

The Simpsons Arcade – If you enjoy the Simpsons, get this one and help lead Homer to the donuts! He beats up the entire neighbor for them! The game is optimized for the iPhone and iPod Touch, but I really enjoy playing it on the iPad in 2x mode. The graphics look great and the controls are even easier to use. Get it now since it’s on sale for 99 cents! It’s normally $2.99 iPhone/iPod Touch Version ($0.99) | iPhone/iPod Touch Lite Version (Free)

Sketchbook Pro – This is an amazing tool for artists. Keep a sketchbook of all your drawings right on your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad. It’s a professional-grade paint and drawing app. Plenty of sketching and painting tools, including several brushes, an array of colors, and layers. Normally $7.99, the iPad version is now on sale for 99 cents. iPad Version (99 cents) | iPhone / iPod Touch Version (99 cents) | iPhone / iPod Touch Lite Version (Free)

Navigon – This is one of the best GPS apps to hit the iTunes app store! Doing a little holiday travel? Get directions to your next destination quickly and easily with Navigon. Included are beautiful offline maps, so no need to worry about not having phone signal in a specific location. Select apps are on sale. iPhone Versions: USA ($29.99) | US East Region ($19.99) | US West Region ($19.99) | US Central Region ($19.99)

Ranch Rush 2 – The sequel to the popular time management is finally out! And it’s gone tropical! Sara’s back with a whole new adventure. Help Sara launch a new tropical farming division. Game-Center ready for the iPad. Normally $6.99, it’s on sale for 99 cents today only.
iPad Version (99 cents)

Tetris – Who doesn’t know how to play Tetris? It’s a classic! Geometric pieces drop down and you need to rotate and move them to fit in rows below. Get four rows at once and you got a super powerful Tetis! The updated graphics and colors are beautiful! It’s currently on sale for both the iPhone and iPad at its lowest price ever this weekend. So get it before it’s gone! Apps are normally $2.99 and $7.99 for the iPhone and iPad, respectively.
iPhone Version (99 cents) | iPad Version ($2.99)

Game of Life – Any idea what your future holds? Why not play the Game of Life? Just like the classic board game, but much more fun! Roll the dice and see if you own a house, have a few kids, or have a career change. Earn money as you go. Player with the most wins!
iPhone/iPod Touch Version (99 cents)

Mystic Emporium – Here’s a bewitching time management game for you! You have a little shop, The Mystic Emporium, where you brew potions, sell artifacts and grow pocus berries. As your customers come in — you’ll definitely meet withches, vampries, wizards, and more — give them what they ask for and you’ll be nicely rewarded. Both iPhone and iPad versions are on sale for Black Friday for just 99 cents! They’re both Game-Center ready so compete with your friends for the achievement points. iPhone/iPod Touch Version (99 cents) | iPad Version (99 cents)

Price Check by Amazon – If you’re out shopping already, you may want to use this app to scan products you’re thinking about buying! Scan the barcode of an item and it’ll return you all the prices it’s selling for. Compare and see if you’re getting the best deal. It’s the perfect app for the holiday shopping season! iPhone Version (Free)

Bargain iPhone and iPad apps on sale for Labor Day weekend

Hope you’re having a great Labor Day Weekend! Some apps are on sale this weekend, so get them before the prices go up!

iPhone/iPod Touch Apps

Pizza Shop Mania – Put your pizza-making skills to the test! Get behind the counter and churn out pizzas to the customers in this face-paced game. If you love time management games, you gotta put this on your must-have list. It’s Digital Chocolate’s sequel to the hit Chocolate Shop Frenzy. Normally $2.99, it’s currently on sale for free! The lite version is linked in case the sale is over by the time you read this. iPhone Version (Free) | iPhone Lite Version (Free)

FlipWorld is a cute little platform game where you get to control gravity! Flip and turn your device and send your little guy safely across the screen. Watch out for monsters though. Tap on the screen to hop right over them. The longer you can keep this up, the more points you’ll get! The game is normally 99 cents, but is free now! iPhone Version (Free)

Rhythm Racer 2 – Race through the musical superhighway and capture bonus points along the way! The futuristic background and fast-pace music makes this game hard to put down. Best of all, it’s free!
iPhone Version (Free) | iPad Version (Free)

Plancast is an adorable way for you to share your plans and events with your friends. Just enter the event info or click on “count me in” to join an event. The app is free and has a beautiful new interface!
iPhone Version (Free)

Boggle – is just as fun as the real board game.. if not more! Shake up the game board of letters and make as many words as you can before the time runs out! Normally $2.99, the game is on sale for 99 cents! The iPad version is on sale as well.
iPhone Version (99 cents) | iPad Version ($1.99)

Woopra is an amazing comprehensive real-time web tracking and analysis software. They recently created an iPhone app so you can check your website analytics on the go. Great interface and very intuitive. A woopra account is needed to use. You can create a free account at Woopra.com. Upgrade accounts also available for sale. iPhone Version (Free)

The Game of Life Classic Edition – Any idea what your future holds? Why not play the Game of Life? Just like the old board game, but much more fun! Roll the dice and see if you own a house, have a few kids, or have a career change. Earn money as you go. Player with the most wins! Currently on sale this weekend only! iPhone Version (99 cents)

JotNot Scanner Pro – Turn your iPhone into a document scanner. You can email, send document to Evernote Google Docs, Dropbox, Box.net, and more within the app. Normally $4.99, this app is on sale for 99 cents this weekend.
iPhone Pro Version (99 cents) | iPhone Free Version (Free)

Line Art – dazzle your eyes as you touch and tap with this app as colorful particles respond to your touch. They move in quickly across the screen and leave behind a trail of colorful lines. There are 10 interaction modes on the iPad and 5 for the iPhone and iPod Touch.
Universal Version (99 cents)

Big Box Visual Effects Pro 3200 is a fun and visually stimulating! It displays over 30 different effects including Plasma, Rain, Waterfall, Firework, Illusion, Space, Starry Sky, Acid Rain, Lava, Fire, Sand, Energy, Electricity, Dust, Smoke and more! Lots of beautiful colors, music, and is a universal app. Normally 99 cents, but free this weekend! Universal Version (Free)

Universal Apps (iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad Compatible)

Twitter- the official app has gone Universal! The iPad version was recently added and it looks lovely! At first glance, it looks simple until you pinch and expand tweets to see more info. The layout is in a columns and pages design that you have to try out for yourself. The app remains free, so get it now! Universal Version (Free)

Epic Citadel – Recently announced at the last Apple special event, this app was used to demonstrate the next steps in iPhone/iPad gaming. Walk around and explore the realm of the Epic Citadel and search for all its beautiful secrets. This game was created using the same tools and technology used to develop high-end console games. Take a peek at what’s to come for iOS devices! Universal Version (Free)

iSQL Lite is for the database programmers on the go! The app displays commonly used SQL commands. It’s a great reference tool when you’re looking for the right SQL command. The lite version has only SQL commands while the full version (on sale this weekend) also includes examples of PL/SQL. Universal iSQL Lite (Free) | Universal iSQL (99 cents)

iPad Apps

Friendly Facebook Browser is what Facebook should look like on an iPad! It displays your newsfeed, photos, and profile very nicely. You can read comment, chat with online friends, write messages, etc just like you would in the Facebook website. The layout is optimized for the iPad. Normally $4.99, it’s now only 99 cents for this weekend. iPad Version (99 cents)

Why Verizon? iPhone outselling Droid and all Moto phones combined

The iPhone needs Verizon compatibility in order to keep up with the rapidly ascending Droid and the rest of the Android platform, the claim goes. The iPhone’s AT&T exclusivity is causing Verizon customers, even if they would prefer the iPhone, to settle for an Android-based phone available from Verizon instead, the headlines proclaim. But the sales numbers say different. Not only is the iPhone outselling Motorola’s Droid line of phones according to the latest sales numbers, the iPhone is single-handedly outselling all of Motorola’s phones combined, says Apple Insider. In fact, the big picture numbers say that since the iPhone launched three years ago, Motorola’s total number of phones sold has plummeted, thus painting the current success of the Droid and Droid X as perhaps a mere anomaly for a company whose fortunes in the cellphone industry have been dwindling for years.

And before you go blaming Motorola’s misfortunes on the bad economy, the company is now selling a mere one-fifth as many cellphones as it was selling back when the iPhone first launched. With death-spiral numbers like that, it begs the question of just what Verizon was thinking when it chose a flagging partner like Motorola to build its flagship Droid line of phones. The move suggests Verizon was in a panic to come up with an iPhone competitor of any kind, even if that meant saddling up with a dying company like Motorola. It also strongly suggests that Verizon knew the Droid thing wouldn’t be a permanent one, more aimed at forcing Apple to bring the iPhone to the bargaining table under terms that favored Verizon more than they favored Apple itself.

While the Droid is far from the only Android-based phone on the market, Verizon has spent more than a year positioning the phone as its most visible flagship product. But even with all that effort, the iPhone is outselling the Droid and every other Motorola phone combined. It makes you wonder why Verizon isn’t pushing harder to get its hands on the iPhone than it is – or perhaps that’s exactly what’s going on behind the scenes.

Apple reports quarterly revenue up 60%, Mac sales up 33%

Apple has announced its revenue figures for the quarter that just ended on June 30th. The company says it made $15.7 billion in revenue during that span, which represents a sixty percent increase over the year ago quarter. The quarter included just the first seven days of sales of the new iPhone as well as the first few months of iPad sales. However the revenue increase was not merely the result of new product launches, as sales of Macintosh computers were up thirty-three percent over the year-ago quarter. According to Apple CEO Steve Jobs, “It was a phenomenal quarter that exceeded our expectations all around, including the most successful product launch in Apple’s history with iPhone 4,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “iPad is off to a terrific start, more people are buying Macs than ever before, and we have amazing new products still to come this year.”

iPhone 4 outselling iPad four-to-one despite antenna fluff, shortages

The iPhone 4 has sold more than three million units in its first twenty-two days despite the fact that inventory has been strained the entire time and the antenna story being touted by the media for nearly that entire stretch as well. So it that a strong number or a weak one – in other words, how does the iPhone 4 stack up in terms of sales? For reference, Apple announced in May that it had sold one million iPads in that product’s first twenty-eight days on the market (remember the iPad? It hasn’t been getting much press lately one way or the other). Later Apple announced that three million iPads had been sold in the first eighty days. Compare that to the three-plus million iPhone 4 units sold in the first twenty-two days, and we see that the iPhone 4 reached the milestone about four times as quickly.

Is this a fair comparison? Not necessarily. The iPad was a brand new kind of product which buyers would have to trust would fit into their lifestyle. In contrast, the iPhone has been around for a few years and much of the mainstream knows what the device does by now, either by having already owned one (or by having already been an iPod touch user), or by having received enough exposure to the iPhone over the past few years via the osmosis of being surrounded by iPhone users. On the other hand, a sizable chunk of the current iPhone user base (particularly among the iPhone 3GS crows) is not yet contract-eligible to purchase an iPhone 4 at standard pricing. Both the iPhone 4 and the iPad have been under severe inventory constraints from the start; the iPad is still listed at a seven to ten day wait on Apple’s online store and the iPhone 4 is currently backordered twenty-one days online. This means that both products would have sold sizably larger numbers by now if inventory were sufficient (a company can’t legally book a sale until it’s shipped, so even those placing orders online won’t get counted for awhile). The iPad saw its 3G model not ship until a month into the process, but on the other hand the iPhone 4 still hasn’t seen its white model ship.

In all, there are too many unaccounted variables for both the iPhone 4 and the iPad to accurately estimate what either product’s total sales would be at this point if not for supply constraints and model-specific delays. But the fact that the iPhone 4 is selling four times as quickly puts into perspective the fact that any way you look at it, iPhone 4 has been overwhelmingly embraced by the public – a storyline that’s completely antithetical to the increasingly bizarre iPhone 4-related headlines that have surfaced during the same timeframe. And that’s before you consider the confirmed fact that only two percent of iPhone 4 units have been returned for a refund (the iPhone 3GS saw six percent of units returned in the same timeframe following its 2009 launch), despite news article after news article claiming that iPhone 4 returns were happening en masse without any statistical or anecdotal data to back it up. Even more telling is the fact that only about one half of one percent of all iPhone 4 users have complained to Apple about antenna-related issues in any capacity, which confirms that A) the “defect” never existed except in the minds of headline writers and those who got sucked in, and B) of the two percent of iPhone 4 users who did return their unit for a refund, most weren’t even doing so for antenna-related reasons.

Most telling of all is that even with the antenna “controversy” reaching such a fevered pitch as to inspire theme songs and late night talk show jokes, mainstream consumers still decided to tune it all out and go ahead and buy the iPhone 4 in quantity anyway – that’s if they could even get their hands one, as the iPhone 4 is clearly and vastly outselling even Apple’s own internal estimates or else the company would have used its vast resources to manufacture more units in advance.

If anything, perhaps Apple should be criticized for significantly underestimating demand for its last two major product launches to the point that the iPad and the iPhone 4 are both still way too hard to get ones hands on, this long after launch. Why is the company still being so conservative with its initial manufacturing efforts for products that it must have the sense to know are going to be massive hits? But in making the criticism, one has to acknowledge in the process that Apple’s products can no longer be brought down by externally generated controversies. In past decades, wholly inaccurate stories about “Mac compatibility” would keep the most of the public from buying one. But here in 2010, whether it’s the media trying to make the lack of ancient Flash technology on the iPad into a “controversy” or the media making hay out of the shocking revelation that the iPhone 4 antenna works in pretty much the same way as every other cellphone antenna on the planet, consumers have simply stopped listening to anything the media has to say when it comes to making their purchasing decisions regarding technology products. And seeing how thoroughly and bitterly the geeks who write the technology headlines have turned against Apple of late, that’s good news for the company – now if only Apple can be nudged into delivering sufficiently large enough initial inventory to meet increasingly massive demand, instead of continuing to play its manufacturing cards too close to the vest.

iPhone 4 pre-order volume suggests Android momentum is over

Apple has apologized after its online store melted down Tuesday as a result of higher than expected first-day pre-orders for its new iPhone 4, which totaled more than half a million pre-orders in a single day, plus however many users attempted to pre-order the new iPhone and were turned away by the glitches (and reader feedback indicates that the number of unsuccessful pre-orders is also quite high). The overwhelming first day volume strongly suggests that iPhone 4 will be by far Apple’s best selling iPhone model yet, and also suggests that its current 28% of the U.S. smartphone market is set to climb significantly as 2010 progresses. It also signals what is likely the end of any mainstream momentum for the competing Android platform, for two reasons. One is cold hard numbers. The Android platform was only able to amass 9% of the same market even though consumers have been well aware for some time that a major new iPhone upgrade was coming and had thus likely been holding off planned iPhone purchases until that model surfaced. As such, iPhone sales in the second half of 2010 should easily be a whole number multiple larger than they were in the first half of 2010.

The second reason is that the same sales tactics which failed on the Android platform have turned out to be successful when tried on behalf of the iPhone platform. Google attempted to sell the Android Nexus One via online ordering, and that online store failed to the point that Google recently pulled the plug on it. Possible reasons offered by those defending the Android platform included the notion that mainstream consumers wanted to be able to touch, feel, and try out a smartphone before buying it. However, this theory has been disproven now that Apple has experimented with selling iPhone online to customers who have not yet had the chance to see or touch one at retail, and sales were such an overwhelming success that it immediately led to an online meltdown. As it turns out, the real problem with Google’s online smartphone store is that it was pushing an Android phone instead of an iPhone.

While the Android platform isn’t going away any time soon, it’s now more clear than ever that the results of NPD’s small online volunteer survey, which suggested that Android had surpassed the iPhone in sales, was one of the most statistically faulty studies published in perhaps the history of the smartphone industry; whatever momentum Android did have during the late-cycle stages of the previous iPhone model was clearly overblown by those who had reason to benefit by over-representing it. And with six hundred thousand iPhone 4 models sold sight unseen just a few hours yesterday, it’s clear that the momentum in the smartphone industry is still primarily in the hands of Apple, where it has been since 2007.

Microsoft to ship five million imaginary Project Natal units in 2010?

New rule: if you’re still referring to your new project as “project” then you don’t get to release sales predictions for it. Microsoft has said that it expects sales of at least five million units for its Project Natal by the end of 2010, an odd claim for a product which lacks a public launch date or even a name. Natal has been demoed in controlled environments at conferences and on television shows as being a form of Nintendo Wii but without the Wiimote, instead allowing users to simply simulate swinging an imaginary tennis racket with their bare hands, for instance, while playing a tennis video game. While the demos have looked impressive, Microsoft is known for its vaporware including products like “Surface” which don’t exist outside of a certain Vegas casino even years after successful public demos. The claim from Microsoft that a Natal fueled Xbox will sell millions of units this year, as relayed by After Dawn, could be a confirmation that the company truly believes it can get Natal to market in 2010 or it could be a mere attempt at hyping a product that’s still a long way away from being launched at the intended expense of competing products that are actually on the market, another tactic the company is famous for.

Why Apple will sell ten million iPads in 2010

When Apple sold its first million iPads in under a month, we predicted that the company would manage to push ten million units by the end of 2010. Although that would require picking up the pace, the iPad 3G and international launch combined with the word of mouth leading to sales acceleration and finally the 2010 holiday season, would boost sales to ten million by the end of December. The argument against such a feat, at the time at least, was that the swiftness with which the first million were sold was a result of the initial early adopter push and wouldn’t hold up over time. Now that we’ve learned that the second month saw an equal number of sales, however, any prediction of slowing iPad sales goes out the window. In fact, once one factors in the fact that not everyone who’s sought out to buy an iPad this month has been able to do so due to inventory issues, combined with the fact that the international rollout happened with just a few days left in the second month and didn’t significantly factor into that second million in sales, there’s every reason to believe that the current baseline of one million iPads sold per month should increase to 1.5 or two million per month as 2010 goes on. That math says that Apple gets to issue a press release announcing that the ten millionth iPad has found a home, right around December 27th. Right or wrong, you heard it here first; we said it a month ago.

Five iPad “controversies” that turned out to be irrelevant

With the iPad reaching the two million units sold milestone today in fifty-nine days on the market, sales of the tablet have surpassed the expectations of everyone involved, likely including even that of Apple itself. So with the iPad now an inarguable early success, here are five issues that were supposed to have been controversial about the iPad which turned out to be non-issues or at least haven’t negatively impacted sales in a noticeable manner:

Lack of Flash: The theory that the griping about the lack of Flash on the iPad was merely coming from a small number of very loud people appears to have been validated by the iPad’s success.

Second generation syndrome: By now everyone paying attention knows that the second generation of a new Apple product comes with a better feature set and often a better price tag. While some may indeed be waiting for iPad G2 to arrive, it doesn’t appear to be the default behavior of the general public.

Multitasking: Like with Flash, the “public outcry” over the lack of third party multitasking on the iPad appears to have actually been just a handful of folks screaming at the top of their lungs in an attempt to appear more numerous than they actually are. As it turns out, the mainstream users buying the iPad don’t even know what the word “multitasking” means, much less care.

iPad 3G surcharge: Not only does the iPad 3G cost $15 to $30 a month for use of AT&T’s 3G network, users have to pay a $130 surcharge right out of the gate just to get the 3G enabled iPad model. While the 3G iPad pricing scheme feels like a racket, it hasn’t prevented iPad users from seeking out the 3G model – so much so that it’s been more difficult to find at retail than the non-3G model since it launched.

The name “iPad”: Remember how the iPad was going to be scoffed at and flop because its name contained the word “pad”? The early jokes have died down, sales are through the roof, and the joke appears to have been on those who honestly thought that the name “iPad” would somehow harm sales.

Apple says it’s sold two million iPads in less than two months

Apple has announced today that it’s reached the two million sales mark for its iPad, fifty-nine days after the tablet computer’s launch. According to Apple CEO Steve Jobs, “Customers around the world are experiencing the magic of iPad, and seem to be loving it as much as we do. We appreciate their patience, and are working hard to build enough iPads for everyone.” The milestone arrives amid complaints from U.S. customers who say they’re having a hard time getting their hands on the device due to inventory constraints, and a delayed international launch which finally occurred just days ago.

Interestingly, the company has sold its second million iPad units in roughly the same amount of time that it took to sell its first million, suggesting that the iPad is now benefiting from sales to more than just the early adopter types.

Crystal Bowersox [no longer] outselling Lee DeWyze on iTunes charts today

American Idol voters had their say last night when they awarded Lee DeWyze the title over Crystal Bowersox, but iTunes buyers are painting a different picture this morning as Crystal’s“winner single” is at number two on the iTunes album charts while Lee’s winner single is at number six on the same chart. Both songs are being sold as pre-orders for the same $1.29 price and are both expected to be released on Saturday May 29th, making for a rare Saturday iTunes release. It’s not clear why the singles are being classified as “albums” in the charts, as they are listed as only containing one song each; perhaps it’s due to the lack of a song title associated with each. According to what was announced on Tuesday’s final performance episode, Crystal’s “winner single” (which is apparently still being released even though she didn’t win) is Patty Griffin’s “Up To The Mountain (MLK song)” while Lee’s is “Beautiful Day” by U2.

Sandwiched between the Crystal Bowersox and Lee DeWyze releases on the iTunes album chart are new releases from Stone Temple Pilots and the Black Keys along with the Sex and the City 2 soundtrack. It’s worth pointing out that the iTunes sales charts fluctuate several times per day.

Update: the two official singles have been released, and interestingly, Lee is now outselling Crystal.

Who won American Idol? Patty Griffin did, according to iTunes

Patty Griffin has seen her three year old song “Up To The Mountain (MLK song)” surge in iTunes to become her best-selling song in the online music store, after American Idol contestant Crystal Bowersox performed the song for the show’s final. In fact, purchasing attention for the song has been so great in the past twelve hours that Patty’s second best selling song is a live concert version of the same song. The exact chart impact on the song is difficult to measure due to the fact that iTunes doesn’t list the top selling songs in the “singer-songwriter” genre under which Patty Griffin’s 2007 album Children Running Through is filed, but while we’ll still have to wait until tonight find out who officially “won” American Idol, it appears that Patty Griffin has won already.

Ten million iPad users possible by year’s end

You’ve heard the news by now that Apple has sold a million iPads in the product’s first month or so on the market. Do the quick math, however, and you realize that the iPad could in fact have a userbase of ten million or more users by the end of 2010. All that would be required is for sales to keep up the same pace over the remaining 240 or days left in the year that they’ve achieved in the first twenty-eight. And while that may initially seem unlikely due to the fact that the initial numbers include all the first-day sales from early adopters, consider the factors that suggest iPad sales might continue this pace throughout the year or even trend upwards from here:

- Supply constraints have caused some stores to be out of inventory at various times; these reports have likely caused some casual buyers to decide to wait.

- The million iPads sold include about three days worth of iPad 3G sales, which are just now getting underway.

- The iPad has yet to go on sale anywhere outside the U.S., which will be rectified shortly.

- With a $499 entry level price and no contract required, the iPad is just inexpensive to work as a holiday gift for a loved one, meaning that December 2010 sales of the device should easily outpace April sales.

- Some disciplined buyers will wait to add an iPad to their lives until they can get one with the iPad 4.0 operating system on it, which won’t happen until the fall.

So as impressive as the first-month million sales may sound, don’t assume that those numbers are a one-shot deal related to launch day. If the iPad takes off with the mainstream in the way that Apple is hoping it will, the company could easily be looking a userbase in the eight digits by the end of 2010, instead of the current seven digits.

It’s official: Apple says one million iPad users

While analysts had been piecing together estimates in an attempt to pin down an unofficial number of iPad sold since the product went on sale a month ago, Apple itself put a rest to any debate on the matter today by announcing that one million iPads have in fact been sold. Apple CEO Steve Jobs was quick to point out that the one million mark, which was reached in twenty-eight days, was “less than half of the 74 days it took to achieve this milestone with iPhone.” Meanwhile, the company also announced that there are more than five thousand iPad-specific apps in the App Store, along with more than two hundred thousand iPhone apps available which are also compatible with the iPad.

The quick rise to the million mark signals quicker initial adoption for Apple’s tablet computer than was originally seen for the company’s first generation smartphone, despite the fact that cellphones were considered to be far more mainstream products in 2007 than tablet computer were coming into 2010, suggesting that the general public may be more willing to follow Apple’s lead when it comes to new kinds of products than it was even three years ago. The iPad’s $499 entry level price tag, considered below what many were expecting for a tablet computer, may have also helped boost initial sales of the device.

iPad inventory issues continue with 3G model

After higher than expected initial sales of the non-3G iPad last month led Apple to delay the international launch of the product due to the resulting inventory shortages, history is quickly repeating itself with the newly introduced 3G iPad. Not only did the estimated 300,000 3G units sold this past weekend mirror the official 300,000 unit count from the original launch weekend, it turns out that forty-nine of of the fifty Apple Stores checked,/a> up on were in fact sold out of the 3G model. Most of those same stores were sold out of the wifi only model as well. It’s still not entirely clear whether Apple was intentionally conservative with its initial iPad inventory, or whether component shortages limited the amount of inventory that could be available, or whether sales really are that much higher than the high end of Apple’s own internal predictions – or perhaps a combination of all three.

Geek wanking over Apple’s Lala acquisition continues

This morning we laid out the facts surrounding Apple’s acquisition of the failed music rental service known as Lala, and we predicted that none of those facts, which make it abundantly clear that Apple acquired the company simply to add its engineers to their roster, would prevent geeks from continuing to insist that Apple was at any moment going to throw away seven years of success with the iTunes Store and instead replace it with an iTunes Rental Depot. And sure enough, those nonsensical headlines have continued to roll in throughout the day, with geek tech pundits continuing to connect the dots of the Lala shutdown in ways in which anyone looking at the situation rationally would laugh at.

So, to reiterate the actual facts of the matter regarding the Lala acquisition, which you’re apparently only going to get from us:

- Lala realized its business model wasn’t working and approached Apple about the buyout.

- Apple was not in the market to acquire a music rental service at the time.

- Every music rental service in the history of digital music has failed to find substantial success.

- The litany of failed music rental services includes early attempts made before the iTunes Store even existed, subsequent attempts made concurrently with the rise of the iTunes Store, and recent attempts made since the iTunes Store became the dominant force in the music industry. To reiterate, all of those attempts have been failures.

- For reason that are unclear to anyone but them, while the general public has clearly demonstrated no interest in renting music whatsoever, the geekiest segment of the population continues to insist that this is their preferred music consumption model and therefore continues to push the notion that Apple’s music efforts, which in their mind have been failure to this point, could finally succeed if Apple would just start renting music to people.

Much as we hate to waste further time even discussing this nonsense, it appears that if we’re going to be the only publication willing to lay out the facts of the matter, then we just may have to do so multiple times per day until those facts set in for those geeks who just won’t stop wanking to their music rental fantasies.

MGMT Congratulations album helped by SNL performance

MGMT may not have picked the best of SNL episodes on which to perform songs from their new album Congratulations, but audience disfavor with this past weekend’s snoozer apparently didn’t rub off on the band, as their album has climbed to the number three overall album spot in iTunes after having been in the five spot prior to their Saturday Night Live stint. The duet (or are the a quintet?) are still behind the unstoppable Glee/Madonna soundtrack as well as the latest from country darlings Lady Antebellum, but MGMT has managed to rise above Usher, Justin Bieber, and prior SNL musical guest Kesha on the iTunes album charts.

MGMT now hits the road for a series of tour dates beginning with a show in Toronto on April 29th followed by U.S. tour dates in May, June, and July, with a performance at Lollapalooza in Chicago in August, before heading overseas in September.

Bret Michaels and Poison soaring on music charts

Bret Michaels remains in critical condition as fans and well wishers from around the world continue to wait for the latest official news on his condition, but if there’s a silver lining for Michaels it’s that his recent illness has caused a spark in interest in the music from his band Poison. The greatest hits album “The Best of Poison” is currently at number nine on the iTunes rock charts, likely representing by far the best chart position the band has had since the iTunes Store launched in 2003. Included in the hits collection are classics like Nothin’ But a Good Time, Unskinny Bob, Every Rose Has Its Thorn, and Something To Believe In, most of which had their heyday in the eighties and early nineties.

These the days the younger generation is more likely to know Bret Michaels from his Rock Of Love television show than from his Poison days, but it appears that the entirely unfortunate events of the past week have indeed steered the public back in Poison’s direction.

This isn’t the first time that a musician’s ill health has caused a run on digital sales; shortly after Michael Jackson’s death, the iTunes charts quickly became occupied by his various albums. The key (fortunate) difference here is that Bret Michaels is still with us, and we wish him all the best in his recovery.

Apple iPhone now outselling iPod touch?

Apple’s own self-announced financial results today included sales numbers of iPhone and iPods for the January-February-March quarter of 2010, pegging iPhone sales at 8.75 million and iPod sales at 10.89 million units. But before thinking “sounds about right” and shrugging and moving on, here’s a question: do those iPod sales numbers include iPod touches? Because if they do, then there’s a revelation here.

According to Apple’s own words: “Apple sold 10.89 million iPods during the quarter.” See what I’m getting at? That 10.89 million number presumably represents combined sales of all iPod touch, iPod nano, iPod classic, and iPod shuffle devices. And while the classic has been on the backburner for awhile, we know enough about the popularity of the nano and the shuffle to safely presume that those two inexpensive-yet-popular models have to make up a decent share of that 10.89 million number, almost certainly enough to deduce that iPod touch sales for the quarter were below (perhaps well below) the 8.75 million iPhones sold. And if that’s the case, then it’s in sharp contrast to the previous quarter, in which those numbers were reversed and the iPod touch was noticeably outselling the iPhone. Of course that quarter took place over the holidays and this one didn’t, suggesting that the iPod touch’s popularity during that time was more a result of it being widely bought as a gift. The iPod touch can easily be purchased as a gift and placed under a tree; because of the activation involved, buying an iPhone as a gift is cumbersome, involving putting a gift card under the tree, and because of the cellular contract involved, an iPhone is rarely given as gift to anyone outside ones own family and/or financial umbrella.

So… all those proclamations three months ago about how the iPod touch, with its networking and internet features which can’t be used outside of the range of a wifi router, was clearly the superior device as evidenced by the fact that it was outselling the iPhone? If I’m reading these numbers correctly, it looks like the iPod touch is only really popular when you’re shopping for someone else and can’t easily buy them an iPhone; when it’s not the holidays and consumers are making their own decision between the iPhone and iPod touch, they sure seem to be leaning toward favoring the iPhone over the iPod touch, incredulous cries of “but it comes with a contract!” or otherwise.

These numbers were released minutes ago, so go easy on me here – it’s possible that the 10.89 million iPods number could instead be in reference to just the non-touchscreen iPod models, and that Apple has declined to disclose iPod touch sales numbers at all – which is why I’ve placed this in the “blog” section for now until I can get clarification. But if I am interpreting these numbers in what appears to be the only obvious way to interpret them, then it sure pokes a lot of holes in that “iPod touch is the future of the iPhone” nonsense we keep hearing from geeks and pundits.

The iPad Presidency

While the impact of recent volcanic activity has had a practical impact worldwide, the unfortunate fallout (pardon the unavoidable pun) from the situation has shown Apple’s iPad to have a more practical use than some pundits had predicted. When Norway’s elected leader Jens Stoltenberg (actually, his title is Prime Minister, not President) got stranded in New York because he couldn’t get a flight home, he simply began conducting the business of his nation via the iPad he’s been traveling with. Sure, it’s the same kind of work that could have been accomplished if Stoltenberg had been traveling with a standard laptop instead of an iPad, but then that’s pretty much the point that Apple has been trying to drive home about the device: you can do real work on it.

Apparently, being Prime Minister has its advantages, as the iPad isn’t set to go on sale outside the United States for at least another month due to higher than expected U.S. sales to date and resulting inventory shortages.

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