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iPad surpasses DVD player for fastest adoption rate ever of non-phone gadgets

It looks like tablets aren't just a phase as the iPad has surpassed even the DVD player for the title of "the most quickly adopted non-phone electronic product" ever. To all the iPad naysayers: who's laughing now?
Written by Rachel King, Contributor

It looks like tablets aren't just a phase as the iPad has surpassed even the DVD player for the title of "the most quickly adopted non-phone electronic product" ever. To all the iPad naysayers: who's laughing now? (Not that I have an iPad myself.)

According to Bernstein Research via CNBC, three million iPad units were sold in its first 80 days after launching in April, and the current sales rate is approximately 4.5 million units per quarter.

The research firm even predicts that the iPad will roll over gaming hardware and cell phones to be the 4th largest consumer electronics category next year. Maybe that could grow exponentially if you expand the category to all tablet computers considering how many competitors are sprouting up by the day, some of which include the Samsung Galaxy Tab, the HP Slate and the Dell Streak.

In case you're wondering about the poor DVD player, that one sold 350,000 units in the first year. You can argue about which product was more revolutionary, but I'd pick the DVD player in that match. The iPad is an amazing product, but it hasn't kicked any other product to the curb so much as the DVD did to VHS.

To anyone who doesn't have an iPad yet, does this affect your decision to buy one? After all, they are available at Target now - albeit for the same prices as before. Or, like me, are you holding out to see what the next-gen model provides?

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