The latest iPad from Apple sold 3 million units over the weekend as new features such as a high-quality Retina display and 4G capability resonate with consumers.

The news follows the announcement that Apple, flush with cash thanks to strong sales for iPhones and iPads, will pay investors a $2.65 per share dividend out of its profits. The successful launch of the new iPad is significant for Apple because there is more competition in the tablet market than for previous launches, with newcomers such as Amazon?s Kindle Fire driving significant interest at the lower-priced end of the market.

?Apple has proven that there is still a market for more expensive, feature-rich tablets," said Paran Johar, chief marketing officer of Jumptap, Cambridge, MA.

?As the year progresses, though, it will be interesting to see whether this model continues to hold and if it erodes PC sales,? he said.

Innovating for consumers
When the latest iPad was introduced, reviews noted that it was being called ?the new iPad? and not the iPad 3, suggesting any new functionality is incremental instead of ground-breaking.

The three million iPad units sold make this Apple?s strongest iPad launch yet, according to the company.

?The new iPad?s performance proves that Apple is innovating for consumers, not the tech press, as they should be,? said Sarah Rotman Epps, a senior analyst at Forrester Research, Cambridge, MA. ?Even as tech watchers claimed the new iPad was ?incremental,? consumers were swarming stores to buy one.

?The tablet market in the United States is a two-horse race between Apple and Amazon until Microsoft enters the fray,? she said. ?We still see strong consumer demand for Windows tablets even though Windows 8 has not yet been released.?

The numbers for the new iPad show that, despite the success of the Kindle Fire, there is still significant interest in high-end tablets, where the iPad reigns supreme.

However, the Kindle Fire?s significant success since its launch last fall has some speculating that Apple will introduce its own smaller, less-expensive tablet later this year.

The new tablet entries and the marketing around them is helping to increase the overall size of the tablet market by bringing new consumers into the category. 

Marketing opportunities
The new iPad is already available in 12 countries, including the U.S., Australia, Canada and France. It will be available in 24 more countries starting on Friday.

The new iPad Wi-Fi models are available for between $499 and $699. Wi-Fi and 4G models sell for between $629 and $829.

The tablet market is likely to continue to grow in 2012 because consumers have found a place for tablets in their daily lives as a content consumption device.

This has already opened up significant opportunities for marketers to reach consumers with tablet-optimized content consumption and shopping experiences.

?Many marketers have already taken note of the tablet?s unique mobile advertising opportunities and more will follow suit,? Mr. Johar said. ?The larger, but still portable, form factor offers the ideal environment for interactive rich media advertisements.

?Tablet advertising has also become a critical step in the sales funnel,? he said.

"TV offers a leaned-back experience best suited for branding ads. Tablets, with their unique form factor and touch screen, are perfect for serving product-focused ads ? like 360 degree views ? and smartphones support action-oriented advertisements for consumers on the go.?