iPads seem to be flying off the shelves in the U.S. Mashable reports that Apple's tablet is selling at an impressive rate of over 200,000 per week in the U.S., outselling Macs at a nearly 2-to-1 ratio, according to numbers collected by Mike Abramsky from RBC Capital Markets.

iPads, which are selling faster than the iPhone when it first launched, are currently only behind iPhone 3GS in terms of sales.

Mashable reports that in a note to investors, Abramsky noted that inventories "show widespread iPad stockouts at Apple retail stores and Best Buy." These statistics show that the tech giant could sell around eight million iPads this year, and this number is only set to grow when it officially launches in Europe, Asia, and Australia on May 28.
The quick pace at which the iPads are selling challenges critics who did not think the device would reach a mass audience this early. It also signals that there is a market for a device in between a smartphone and a laptop.

This could be good news for Apple's competitors as they prepare to build their own versions of the tablet. Google has been hard at work on an edgy "iPad killer" with Verizon as a partner. Last week Verizon's CEO, Lowell McAdam, told the WSJ that "work on a tablet is part of a deepening relationship between the largest U.S. carrier and Google."

Apple's successful iPad sales also come as positive news for content creators who are optimistic about the iPad's role in monetizing online content through popular iPad news apps.

Sources: Mashable, Forbes