Chitika, which regularly mines data from its ad-serving network for device and browser usage patterns, said that over the past 24 hours the new iPad generated 6.6% of all iPad traffic that goes through the company's systems.

Apple's first-generation tablet and 2011's iPad 2 were responsible for the remaining 93.4%.

The new iPad's part of the Apple tablet pie has been slowly increasing since the . Early last Saturday, for example, Chitika said the new iPad hit a high of 5%, and reached a 9.9% share for an hour on Tuesday, March 20.

Although Chitika's measurements don't directly correspond with the installed base of a device -- in this case the new iPad versus the two previous models -- the firm's numbers are in the ballpark, according to figures Apple has made public.

Earlier this week, Apple said it had over the first weekend, a number that represents 5.4% of the 55.3 million iPads Apple sold through Dec. 31, 2011.