3 million iPads sold since launch

Hours after saying it sold a "record" number of third-generation iPads this past weekend, Apple has given that record a tally.
Today the company said it has sold 3 million of the devices since launching on Friday in more than a dozen countries. That number doesn't include preorders of the device, which went live the day the product was announced.
"The new iPad is a blockbuster with 3 million sold-the strongest iPad release yet," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide marketing, in a statement.
The news comes on the heels of Apple announcing plans to offer a quarterly dividend to shareholders, as well as a stock repurchasing program. In a call with analysts following the news, Apple CEO dodged a question about how many iPads the company had sold during its initial weekend on sale, saying only that it was "a record weekend."
To put the 3 million metric in perspective, preorders for the iPhone 4S-Apple's most popular product launch to date--topped 1 million units in its first 24 hours on sale, with the device going on to sell more than 4 million units during its launch weekend. That initial figure for iPhone 4S sales also did not include preorders; the company released total sales for the device after the end of the quarter. Apple did not report initial sales of the iPad 2 after the device made its debut last year, but did report launch sales of the first-generation model, which pulled in first-day sales of 300,000 units.