Do crowds really have any wisdom? Well, we're working without confirmation, but members of the AAPL Sanity Board forum, which isn't open to the public, puts the first-day tally for Apple's (AAPL) iPad at 120,000.

The group used the order numbers from their own Apple Store purchases and extrapolated based on time stamps and serial numbers. The data was from 48 orders for 54 of the devices.

"Apple (AAPL, $213.35, 10.28), a holding in our model portfolio, delivered another blowout quarter, though the results were enhanced by a change in the way the company accounts for iPhone and AppleTV revenue," notes Geoff Seiler.

In his BullMarket.com advisory, he explains, "Even without the accounting change, Apple reported strong sales across its product line. It sold 8.7 million iPhones during the quarter, 3.36 million Macs, and 21 million iPods.

"The bottom line was that Apple reported a 50% increase in profits for the quarter ended December 26th. It earned a record $3.38 billion, or $3.67 per share, compared to $2.25 billion, or $2.50 per share, in the year-ago period.

The stock market was a roller-coaster today, and suddenly over the last week and a half we have gone from a market where volatility was very low to one where triple-digit DJIA point moves occur and get reversed in almost the same day. The VIX even opened right over 26.0 today before selling off. We started the day mixed, then went very positive, and then went very negative toward the end of the day. Earnings are still strong, but valuations are weighing on investors as you see many names selling off even after good earnings. The wide budget deficit only highlights more and more long-term concerns.

Here were the unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow 10,200.19 +3.33 (0.03%)
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Tomorrow we are not going to see people landing on Mars, or North and South Korea unite, or the end of poverty and disease. However, the long awaited Apple (AAPL) tablet computer will be unveiled and from all the excitement it has generated it might even be bigger news than that.

It seems everyone is anticipating that Apple's latest device will have the ability to balance the federal budget and eliminate the deficit. After all the hype anything less may disappoint.

Taiwan's Acer became the world's second-largest PC maker in 2009 by getting very aggressive in retail with pricing and positioning its three brands across all pricing segments. The eMachines brand is entry-level, the Acer brand seems to be mid-level and Acer has positioned the Gateway brand as a premium product.

All told, Acer's might unseated Dell (DELL) and the company shows no signs of slowing down sales. It even was an early participant in the netbook category last year, helping it capture sales in that red-hot category as well.

The New York Times (NYT) has been struggling to figure out the web, which has led to a debate over whether to charge for electrons that has spanned years. Well, the Times seems likely to take the plunge, hoping to replicate the successes of the Financial Times and Wall Street Journal ... except, of course, that the Wall Street Journal is famous for not really delivering profits. Fortunately, the new pay wall is expected to look more like the Financial Times than the Wall Street Journal. The New York Times is considering a "metered" system. Visitors will be able to read a certain number of articles free before being required to subscribe.

A friend of Arthur Sulzberger, according to New York Magazine's Daily Intel, said that the final word could come in a few days, a sentiment corroborated by a newsroom source who said that the plan could be announced within weeks. Yet, plans need to be implemented, so it could take months for the Times to begin charging for content.

For a company that hasn't even admitted to a new product, expectations are awfully high. The word is out that Apple (AAPL) will be unveiling a tablet computer at a major product launch this month.

Former Google (GOOG) exec Lee Kai-fu put out on his blog that he knows its coming, citing an anonymous source, and that the device would sell for less than $1,000. It's going to have a 10.1-inch screen and three-dimensional graphics, he continued, according to a Bloomberg News report, saying it would look like a large iPhone.

What is Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) up to? Is it, like Apple (AAPL), trying to bring a digital wireless tablet pad computer to market? That's what it seems like from its recent trademark applications. Dig this marketing line: This is my Zeen. It is the key to my Airlife. Oh brother. This is what Harvard marketing MBAs produce? Maybe Gilette would be interested in the name for a new razor. But a gadget?

Taking note of HP's recent trademark applications, one would think it is going to have a wireless gadget of some sort available for sale in the near future. The term "airlife" reeks of constant wireless access, probably using a partner like AT&T (T) or Verizon Wireless.

One thing we know: Apple's (AAPL) iPhone is so massively popular that the network it officially runs on (AT&T's) often has a hard time keeping up. Densely-populated areas have problems with dropped calls and unreliable data services since so many iPhone users are choking the network. It got so bad that AT&T stopped selling the iPhone from its website this past weekend, seemingly trying to slow sales down because its network couldn't handle it.

So what happens when Apple releases the next, best thing? The blogosphere and tech press are totally psyched over the pending release of an Apple tablet or pad computer -- one that will "change the world" no less. But nobody is asking the question of usage problems. If an Apple tablet is announced in January and released shortly thereafter, are the wireless networks the device will run on be overwhelmed?

Apple, Inc. (AAPL) has not yet joined the netbook PC race, even though that segment of the personal computer industry has been on fire in the last year in terms of overall sales. Apple, as usual, has derided the category as older machines with cramped keyboards and limited usefulness. Consumers apparently are not listening, as netbook PCs continue flying off the shelves.

Barnes & Noble Inc. (NYSE: BKS) recently announced an electronic e-reader to compete with the likes of the Amazon.com's (NASDAQ: AMZN) Kindle and Sony Corp.'s (NYSE: SNE) Reader.

In perfect holiday fashion, the e-reader is set to become the "must have" gadget for the gift-giving season almost upon us. The newer Nook device has a small color screen that allows easier content locating (but no keyboard), the ability to "lend" digital books to a friend and built-in wireless internet.

With the Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) Tablet, newspapers doing what they should have done: thinking about the possible impact to their business and trying to find ways to mitigate it. This comes 15 years after the industry ignored the internet and a decade after it disregarded Google (NASDAQ: GOOG). Of course, unwilling to admit its salient and severe fallibility, the newspaper folks are saying that they don't want the Tablet to destroy print the way the iPod destroyed the music industry.

The newspapers are apparently worried that circulation could plunge, driving profits through the floor and jeopardizing their abilities to operate. They are concerned that properties like the New York Times Co.'s (NYSE: NYT) Boston Globe could wind up selling for a single-digit percentage of the original purchase price.