Apple sold some 300,000 iPads on Saturday -- the first day the tablet computer was available -- but its long-term staying power won't become clear for weeks, if not months.

People who acquired the iPad on its first day downloaded more than 1 million applications for the device and purchased more than 250,000 electronic books, Apple said today.

Two analysts quoted by Bloomberg had estimated that Apple would sell 400,000 and 600,000 iPads, but experts agreed that accurately projecting sales would be difficult.

Ypsilanti residents Brian Moon, age 13, left, and brother Steven test out the games on the new iPad on Saturday at the Apple Store in Briarwood Mall.

A swarm of tech enthusiasts waited in line Saturday morning at Briarwood Mall's Apple Store to buy the iPad.

Although the 150,000 apps that work on the iPhone and iPod Touch also work on the iPad, TechCrunch reported that only 2,000 apps designed especially for the iPad were available on Saturday.

Ann Arbor mobile software firm Mobiata was among the few companies ready to sell apps designed specifically for the iPad from Day One. 

Mobiata introduced a redesigned version of its high-profile FlightTrack application for the iPad. The startup, which sold more than $1 million in apps for the iPhone in 2009, had been working feverishly to prep for the iPad's launch. FlightTrack for the iPad allows users to track an unlimited number of flights worldwide.

“The huge multi-touch screen gave us a new design opportunities, which we really leapt on in creating FlightTrack for iPad,” Mobiata President Ben Kazez told blog Talking Travel Tech.

The iPad offers potentially significant revenue opportunities for aspiring software developers in Ann Arbor. Apple gives 70 percent of the sales revenue to the private developers that create apps.

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