The ABC player doesn't work because they have failed to provide alternate, lower-bandwidth streams for fall-over to 3G. It's an ATT requirement and part of the SDK for iPhone (and has been all along) that if you want video over 3G you have to provide lower bandwidth streams.

The Newton sold 200k in five years. The world was a very different place back then, so I wouldn't look much into that. One can also look at how quickly the first million iPads have been sold, 28 days, compared to the first iPhone, 74 (or so) days. But, that iPhone was breaking new ground. The iPad has the iPhone's success to ride on. The same situation you find when you look at Android and sales of other iPhone-like products. It's the iPhone that did the trailblazing to allow those products to achieve the sales they're currently enjoying.

I'm still planning to skip the first generation iPad, but I also still see it as distinctly a third category. It's not a phone or pocketable handheld and it's not a notebook. For some people it can replace one or both of those other devices, but for others it's simply a third device. And there's nothing wrong with that.

Now, the more interesting stat that I haven't seen reported yet... What's the greatest number of slate/pad computers that have ever been sold by a single manufacturer? I'd be surprised if anyone else has ever sold 1 million units in any number of years of product availability. I'd be less surprised, but somewhat surprised nonetheless, if anyone else can introduce anything this year that will sell 1 million units.