Based on these numbers, Apple is probably making about as much from selling iPads as it is from selling Macs. But the question is this: is the iPad cannibalizing Mac sales? I argue that it is.

Apple execs have said, numerous times, that the iPad is . Unfortunately for Apple execs, MacBooks are included in the category of "laptop PCs." The "magical" tablet is in general--both Windows and Mac OS X.

Analyst Brian Marshall from Gleacher & Co. echoed this point in a recent research note to clients. "The iPad has successfully integrated the functionality of a slimmed down notebook into a media-player form factor," Marshall writes. Marshall goes on to argue that this renders a significant portion of Apple's notebook line "obsolete."

For many laptop users, this may be true. While some of us need the power and flexibility that laptops provide, many of us do not. We just need something on which we can check email, surf the web, and perform basic tasks.

The iPad can easily do many of these tasks just as well, or better: take a look at . The portrait orientation works well for web pages, and the ability to zoom in and out of sections of a web page is nice. Plus, add the fact that it's truly "web on the go," and it's that much better.