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Network World - Apple says it has sold 3 million iPads in just 80 days, validating the tablet computer's popularity among consumers and business users.

Sales of the iPad have been hot from the start, with the company passing 2 million sales mark in under 2 months and the 1 million mark in 28 days.

"People are loving iPad as it becomes a part of their daily lives," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "We're working hard to get this magical product into the hands of even more people around the world, including those in nine more countries next month."

Initially a Wi-Fi version of the Apple iPad was introduced, followed shortly by a 3G edition of the tablet device, which boasts 5 antennas.

Apple says more than 11,000 new apps have been developed for the iPad that exploit its touchscreen interface and large color-friendly screen (the device also runs most apps built for the iPhone and iPod touch). Some have pointed out that the iPad apps come at a premium cost.

One sign that the iPad has really made it already is that malware has already started to pop up in an attempt to scam users and hackers have targeted email addresses of iPad customers.

Also read: Apple iPad vs. Amazon Kindle, one of networking's greatest arguments

The iPad isn't just winning over consumers, but it's also showing up in business settings. A slew of iPads could be seen being used by exhibitors and attendees at the recent Enterprise 2.0 conference in Boston, for example, and even the Boston Celtics IT director was using one as he prepped the tech infrastructure for the team's NBA Finals games.

The iPad's explosive sales come at a time when there's no slowdown in demand either for Apple's iPhone 4, with its new iOS 4 operating system.

The Apple iPad's popular has spurred a slew of developments by rivals, including lots of new devices being rolled out at trade shows like the recent Computex. One other development: vendors of eBook readers have started dropping prices as a way to combat iPad mania. Meanwhile, some say the iPad and other tablets will kill off netbooks, which until recently themselves had been looked at as PC killers.

Read more about anti-malware in Network World's Anti-Malware section.

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