Apple unveils iAd platform as iPad sales look strong

Apple chief executive officer Steve Jobs showed off a new smartphone operating system that features an advertising platform to compete with Google's, and revealed stronger-than-expected sales of 450,000 units for the iPad.

The iPhone 4.0 software will be available on Apple's hugely popular smartphone this summer, complete with a number of upgrades, including a long-awaited multi-tasking capability that allows the use of several applications at once.

A version of the iPhone's operating system is also used on the iPad, and the latest generation of software will come to Apple's new tablet computer this autumn.

The new advertising platform for the iPhone and iPad (dubbed iAd) marks Apple's first foray into a small but growing market, and is sure to please the thousands of application developers who make their living off these devices, providing them with a new revenue stream.

The iPad's early sales impressed analysts, many of whom expect one million units to be sold in the quarter ending June, and roughly five million in 2010, though estimates vary widely.

"We're making them as fast as we can. Our ramp is going well, but evidently we can't quite make enough of them yet so we're going to have to try harder," Mr Jobs said, noting iPad sellouts at Best Buy stores.

The electronics giant has staked its reputation on the 9.7-inch touchscreen tablet, essentially a cross between a smartphone and a laptop. It is helping foster a market for tablet computers that is expected to grow to as many as 50 million units by 2014, according to analysts.

"I think it's pretty impressive, five days almost half a million units, and it shows there's still pretty good momentum behind the first day," said Gartner analyst Van Baker.