Apple to sell 40 million iPads in 2011?

With the introduction of the Apple iPad 2 expected today, DigiTimes did some number crunching and figured that Apple will ship between 6 and 6.5 million of its tablets this quarter, including the sequel. For the year, DigiTimes expects 40 million units of both units to be shipped.

For Apple to ship that many iPads this year, the tech firm will need to pick up the speed of production for the iPad 2.  At launch, 300,000 to 400,000 units of the sequel are expected to be ready. In January and February, Apple ordered 1.7 to 2 million iPads. Including the iPad 2, more than 2 million units were ordered for March.

According to "industry sources", as of January there were 1 to 1.5 million Apple iPads in inventory. Those devices will most likely be the subject of sharp price breaks once the iPad 2 hits the market.

source: DigiTimes via AppleInsider