iPad sales outstrip Macbook

Apple's figures for last quarter indicate that they are outselling Macs in units and closing in on revenue figures. Sales in the final quarter of 2010 are up 75% on the previous quarter to 7.3M worldwide. These phenomenal numbers outstrip even the most bullish forecasts with average prediction of only 3.3m from 14 Wall Street analysts consulted.

The timing of these impressive results couldn't be better for Apple given the recent news of  Steve Jobs unexpected medical leave, the uncertainty surrounding which caused an initial £12m drop in value of Apple earlier in the week.

It's never been harder to forecast sales of new consumer technology as the pace of innovation continues to increase however it's clear that tablets are here to stay. With new tablets due to ship this year from a number of manufacturers based on Google's Android platform competition is going to be fierce for Apple's iPad and it remains to be seen whether they can stay the course without the iconic Jobs at the helm.