Three Months In, Apple Ships A Million MacBook Airs

Apple may have sold over 15 million iPads to date, but, thanks to the MacBook Air, its notebook line is showing similar signs of achievement.

Concord Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo estimates that Apple has sold over a million of its latest MacBook Air models since its release in October 2010. Kuo originally estimated that the MacBook Air would sell 700,000 units in its first quarter. If the numbers hold true, sales of the MacBook Air account for nearly forty percent of the 2.9 million laptop computers Apple sold in the quarter ending Dec 2010.

At those rates, Apple is likely to stand out as the only worldwide PC vendor to report material growth on a quarter-to-quarter basis, Kuo told AppleInsider.

As impressive as the MacBook Air's shipment numbers are, they are significantly bested by sales of the iPad during the same span. Apple said in January that it had shipped over seven million of the tablets during the quarter.

The 13.3 Macbook Air features a solid-stage drive, lighter body, and a screen resolution topping its predecessor. Apple also offers at 11.6 model of the computer. Many have speculated that the success of the Air will fuel efforts by Apple to take a similar approach with its other laptop computers. This includes ditching disc-based hard drives in favor of SSDs and completely stripping its computers of their optical drives.

To contact the reporter responsible for this story call (646) 461 7294 or email r.bilton@ibtimes.com.