Apple predicted to sell 8 million iPads by 2012: Analyst

Apple’s latest product, the Apple iPad, is set to see strong sales, according to an analyst.

In a research note to clients on Wednesday, Needham & Company's Charlie Wolf predicted Apple is set to sell two million iPads in 2010 and an additional six million devices in 2011, according to a report on AppleInsider.

Wolf said he expects another six million sales in 2011.

The long-term trajectory of iPad sales is unlikely to be revealed in the first 18 months after its introduction this spring, he wrote.

If the analogy with the iPod and iPhone holds up, history suggests, then, that a hockey stick in sales is unlikely to occur before fiscal 2012, which is beyond our forecast period.

Meanwhile, IDC analyst Richard Shim said that he estimates the company will sell 4 million to 5 million iPads this year, which is double Wolf's prediction.