More huge Apple numbers — 50 million iPads a year?

It took years before other manufacturers had credible competition for the iPhone. It's doubtful that the lag time for iPad competitors will be anywhere near as long, but the iPad's early success makes it an extremely formidable opponent.

Henry Blodget at Business Insider quotes hedge-fund manager Jeff Matthews on some amazing near-term numbers for the iPad:

We got to talking about Apple, and Jeff tossed out a startling prediction for Apple's iPad business:

Apple, Jeff said, will soon sell 50 million iPads a year. Given the amazing start the device has had, this forecast is hardly wild: 4 million iPads have been sold already, and ~12 million should be sold this year. So selling 50 million in a couple of years doesn't sound like a stretch, especially if the price comes down.

And to think- neither the iPhone nor iPad were even on the market barely three years ago...