In what is being seen as an indication that Apple CEO Steve Jobs may well have succeeded in reviving demand for tablet computers, the sales of the April 3-launched iPad have been nearly twofold more than the figures projected by some analysts.

As per Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, the initial sales of the iPad have probably touched 700,000 units, beating his prediction of 200,000-300,000 units’ sales; as well as the estimated 300,000 to 400,000 units by Toni Sacconaghi of Sanford C. Bernstein & Co.

Noting that the sales of the newly-launched iPad “held relatively steady during the day,” Munster – who has himself purchased a $499, 16-gigabyte version of the device, said: “I have high expectations.”

The notable wave of iPad enthusiasm among US customers is evident from the fact that, at least the five stores surveyed by Piper Jaffray, the meandering queues of frenzied customers were much longer than expected.

Apple has designed the iPad essentially with the aim of turning tablets into mainstream consumer devices, which largely strike a middle path between smartphones and laptop computers.

The initial reviews of the iPad are definitely ‘encouraging’ - while Bloomberg correspondent Rich Jaroslovsky said that the device hold the potential to transform the way people relate to computers; USA Today’s Edward Baig said that the the iPad is “fun, simple, stunning to look at and blazingly fast.”