The Wall Street Journalreports that hundreds of thousands of Apple iPads have already been sold through pre-orders on Apple.com. The WSJ says able is still trying to cut content deals ahead of the iPads launch date of April 3rd. Apple is putting tv show content ahead of all other types of content.
Since the iPad became available for pre-order last Friday, Apple has sold hundreds of thousands of the device, say people familiar with the matter. One of these people said Apple could sell more iPads in its first three months than it sold iPhones in the three months after the smart phone's debut.
Yet the company is still negotiating with media companies for a price cut on TV shows that people can download onto the device, said people familiar with the matter. Apple also hoped to work closely with newspaper, magazines and textbook publishers on new ways to digitally present print content on the iPad, but has for now put the effort on backburner in favor of focusing on other content, said one of those people.
Apple may have met some initial reluctance from publishers if it was unable to secure much in the way of newspaper and book content prior to the launch date. It is also possible Apple did not give publishers enough time to develop content specifically for the iPad.
The Wall Street Journal 
