iPad 2 demand even higher than the original

The iPad 2 may not be the massive leap forward a lot of people were hoping for, but that isn’t likely to affect demand for the new tablet once it goes on sale later this month.

In fact, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster predicts that initial demand is set to be even higher for the iPad’s second coming than it was for the original last year, and says the new slate will cross the million unit sales milestone faster than the 28 days it took the original.

The good news, however, is that Munster says higher demand isn’t likely to be partnered by longer queues, as more retail outlets will be carrying the iPad 2 on launch day than was the case a year ago.

Nonetheless, the lack of a lengthy pre-order window for the new slate should still see decent numbers hitting the pavements on launch day – set for Friday in the US, and a fortnight later here in the UK.

In terms of wow factor, the iPad 2’s biggest draw has to be its slimmer-than-ever profile, though Apple is also touting twice the raw processing power than before and graphics speeds up to nine times faster.