Visitors check out Apple iPads at an Apple retail store in Madrid, May 28, 2010. (Reuters/Susana Vera)
Apple Inc said it has sold 3 million iPads since the touch-screen tablet computer hit store shelves less than three months ago, and the pace of sales suggests that demand for the device is steaming ahead.
Apple did not provide a month-by-month breakdown of sales. However, Apple previously said that it sold 1 million iPads in the first month after the U.S. launch on April 3, and had sold 2 million iPads by May 31.
It hit the 3 million mark on June 21, it said in a release Tuesday.
In addition to the United States, the iPad is currently available in Australia, Canada, France, German, Italy and Japan, among other countries. It will be rolled out in nine more markets in July.
Shares of Apple rose $4.22 to $274.39 in midday trade on the Nasdaq.
