Apple iPad enjoys strong early interest

CUPERTINO, Calif., March 13 (UPI) -- Apple Inc. has tens of thousands of early orders for its iPad device and the U.S. company will likely sell millions of the devices, analysts say.

The Washington Post said Saturday that analysts expect first-year sales of the new technological device, which will be available in stores in April, to reach 5 million.

Friday marked the first day the Apple device was available for pre-orders and within the first six hours of being available, an estimated 91,000 iPads were ordered.

The Post said while the tablet computers appears to be off to a strong start, a poll conducted by Engadget.com indicates not all consumers are looking forward to the release of the device.

Of the 60,000 respondents in the poll, whose polling dates and margin of error were not released, 65 percent expressed a negative take on the new Apple product, compared to nearly 19 percent who said they would purchase the item. Another 16 percent chose the option "What's an iPad?"