> Users on the [AAPL Sanity Board](http://www.investorvillage.com/groups.asp?mb=13977&pt=m&category=A) at Investor Village have taken their order numbers and used them to figure out how many total preorders Apple has taken for the iPad. On Friday, the first day of availability, they determined that an estimated [51,000 units](http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/10/03/12/ipad_50000_sales_in_2_hours_apple_tv_bumped_mysterious_app_icon.html) were sold in the first two hours. By the end of the day, they found that 120,000 were secured in the first 24 hours.
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> But according to Philip Elmer-DeWitt with *Fortune Brainstorm Tech*, by Saturday and Sunday those order estimates had slowed to about [1,000 per hour](http://brainstormtech.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2010/03/15/apple-ipad-orders-drop-sharply/), suggesting demand for the device died off considerably after the first day.
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> Daniel Tello, who has been tracking the numbers closely, predicted that Apple will sell about 30,000 iPad preorders on weekdays, and half of that on weekends. He forecasts no more than a half-million preorders and reservations will be taken before the [April 3 launch](http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/10/03/05/apple_ipad_to_arrive_in_u_s_on_april_3_preorders_begin_march_12.html). He told Elmer-DeWitt he believes Apple will sell 1 million iPads by the second week after the device ships.
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> Most among the preorders tracked at Investor Village opted for the Wi-Fi-only model, coming on top by a two-to-one margin. The Wi-Fi iPad will be available April 3, while the 3G-enabled versions, which carry a [$130 premium](http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/10/01/27/apple_reveals_long_awaited_multi_touch_ipad_tablet_device.html), will arrive later that month. Preorders saw a relatively even split among capacities, with the largest model, 64GB, accounting for 35 percent of orders.
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> Users who wish to add to the iPad sales tracking project can help by sending their order number with the last three digits X-ed out, the number of iPads ordered, order time, time zone, memory capacity and whether they purchased a 3G or Wi-Fi model to [ipadsales10@gmail.com](http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/10/03/15/preorders_for_apple_ipad_slow_after_120k_first_day_rush.html/mailto:ipadsales10@gmail.com).
via [appleinsider.com](http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/10/03/15/preorders_for_apple_ipad_slow_after_120k_first_day_rush.html)
One HUGE problem with this website’s estimates: They’re only tracking “preorders.” Their numbers aren’t taking into account all the people, like myself, who reserved an iPad to be picked up at the Apple store.
There was no order number associated with my reservation. I only received an email confirmation that my iPad would be available for pickup on the 3rd.
I have to figure that maybe half or even a lot more than half of 1st day buyers are going for the in-store pickup option. So these estimates are likely very much on the low side.
