Reports have leaked that Apple's iPad pre-order and reservation count is on track to surpass the number of original iPhones sold in the first three months of release. The Wall Street Journal claims sources have told them "hundreds of thousands of units" have already been reserved or sold. Analysts have predicted that Apple could sell one million iPads by mid-April.

If the numbers are correct, this makes the iPad the most successful electronic reader ever launched. Amazon's Kindle took months to sell an equivalent number of units. Apple, meanwhile is furiously negotiating deals with publishers of magazines, newspapers and textbooks as well as proposing to reduce prices on TV shows in iTunes to 99 cents.

The iBookstore, along with a the reader application iBooks, will complement iTunes for content delivery on the iPad. Apple's foray into e-books will compete directly with Amazon's Kindle and the Barnes and Noble Nook along with their associated online digital bookstores. A list of publishers including Penguin Books, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, Macmillan Publishers and Hachette Book Group USA have already committed to producing content for the iPad.

Although the iPad may outsell the iPhone in the first three months, only time will tell if this sales pace continues. The iPhone continues to hold its popularity and ramp up sales across the globe. Apple is expected to sell up to 50 million iPhones worldwide in 2011, and has already sold over 40 million units to date.

According to the Boy Genius Report, sources at Apple have said that half of all in-store reservations are for the 32GB model. Another 30 percent of customers reserved the 64GB version and the remaining 20 percent opted for a 16GB iPad.