Apple sold over 300,000 iPads when the eagerly-anticipated tablet computer was launched Saturday, dpa quoted the company as announcing today. The sales figure included units that had been pre-ordered online and which were bought directly from retail stores, Apple said. The official sales figure was broadly in line with earlier Apple estimates. But it was just half of the widely quoted sales figure of 600,000 to 700,000 units estimated by analyst Gene Munster on Sunday. Reports in the US also indicated that despite long lines at Apple's retail stores early Saturday, Apple had ample supply of the devices and customers could walk in to buy iPads without any waiting later in the day. Apple hopes that the touch-screen device will bridge the gap between smartphones and laptops and popularize a new kind of digital device - this despite the failures of earlier tablet computers to catch on with consumers over the past ten years. "It feels great to have the iPad launched into the world - it's going to be a game changer," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "iPad users, on average, downloaded more than three apps and close to one book within hours of unpacking their new iPad." dpa ag prxnc027 aa uq ula kro ecs tra 000 Mexico-Quakes/ Aftershocks cause panic in Mexico, death toll now two = Mexico City (dpa) - About 30 aftershocks were felt in the northern Mexican state of Baja California after Sunday's 7.2-magnitude quake. The authorities said Monday that the quake left two dead and around 100 injured in a border area between Mexico and the United States. Many opted to sleep outdoors to avoid danger from aftershocks measuring 3.5-4.9 on the Richter scale, according to Mexico's seismological service. Sunday's quake was felt on both sides of the border, particularly in the cities of Mexicali, Tijuana, Calexico, San Diego and Los Angeles. It was stronger than the one which killed an estimated 220,000 people in Haiti in January. Buildings, roads and bridges, including the pedestrian border bridge linking Mexicali and Calexi, suffered damage or collapsed. The quake and its aftershocks triggered some hysteria in the population. The epicentre was 26 kilometres south-south-west of Guadalupe Victoria in Baja California, at a depth of 32 kilometres, the US Geological Survey said. Baja California Governor Jose Guadalupe Osuna declared a state of emergency in the state capital Mexicali, a city of about 1 million people. "The most important thing is to safeguard the physical integrity of Baja Californians," he said. A 94-year-old man was killed when he was crushed by a collapsing wall. Another person was fatally run over by a car when he ran out in panic. The quake caused outages in electricity, telephone and water supply. It also caused isolated fires. This was the largest-magnitude quake in Baja California since 1940, when a tremblor measured 7.1. The Federal Electricity Commission said in a statement that the power line to Mexicali from Tijuana suffered damage, which affected at least two power plants. The statement said work was ongoing in the hope of "fully restoring supply within a few hours." The authorities suspended school at all levels in Mexicali.
