In just about two months, Apple has made what must be a record in the tech industry, reportedly selling two million units of their uber-popular iPad. And amazingly, the majority of those numbers came from domestic sales as the iPad only went on sale internationally last weekend. When international sales figures start rolling in, the ‘magical’ tablet will be on course to outpace sales of just about every must-have device, including Apple’s own iPhone.
Additionally, apps specifically built for the iPad’s much larger screen have topped 5,000 in recent days, but represent only a small fraction of the nearly 200,000 total apps most of which are designed for the iPhone or iPod touch. The big concern now seems to be whether the Foxconn factory in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen can produce enough iPads to meet demand. Apple CEO, Steve Jobs mentioned this issue as the new sales figures were announced.
“We appreciate [customer] patience, and are working hard to build enough iPads for everyone,” said Jobs.
Keeping up with demand isn’t Foxconn’s only concern at the moment as an investigation into an alarming rash of worker suicides has begun. More than 300,000 people sleep, eat and work at the sprawling factory complex and thus far in 2010, 10 people have committed suicide, while three others have tried. Other manufacturers besides Apple contract with Foxconn, including Dell, HP Dell, and Sony, each of which have begun their own investigation into worker conditions.
