Both Apple and AT&T reported record iPad sales during the weekend the latest version of the device became widely available. During a conference call Monday, in which Apple announced plans to pay a dividence and buy back $10 billion worth of stock, CEO Tim Cook said the company sold a record number of iPads over the weekend without providing details. But he did say Apple has sold 55 million iPads since 20102. AT&T issued a similar statement Monday, saying it activated more iPads last Friday than it has on any other single day previously. The carrier likewise didn’t provide any …

New research from NPD In-Stat suggests that different tablet sizes have an impact on how people use the devices. Those in the 3.5-inch to 7-inch range, for instance, including personal media players, are best suited to everyday activities like commuting, exercising and other on-the-go uses. Tablets in the 9.7-inch to less than 11-inch category are more likely to be used at home and for second-screen viewing. “As the tablet market continues to heat up, manufacturers are striving to differentiate next-generation products to compete with the iPad,” according to Stephanie Ethier, senior analyst, at NPD In-Stat. “Screen size has emerged …

Nielsen has enlisted WPP's GroupM unit in his campaign to make its new Online Campaign Ratings the "currency" of online media buys, as well as cross-platform planning and buying that has online as an integral element. The companies said GroupM and Nielsen will each "contribute resources and expertise to create Cross-Platform Campaign Ratings and make it available to GroupM clients."

In the wake of a disappointing earnings report in its fiscal fourth quarter, online radio service named a trio of new advertising executive appointments. Tommy Pizzo, formerly with BrightRoll, joins Pandora as regional vice president for the East Coast. Based out of the company’s New York office, Pizzo will focus on providing clients innovative, cross-platform ad solutions. Pandora also hired Brian Colbert as vice president for mobile advertising sales, charged with helping marketers reach their desired audiences across its mobile properties. Previously, he was senior director of mobile ad sales and strategy at ESPN. Pandora also promoted Brian Mikalis …

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia has named Alison Adler Matz senior vice president and publisher of MSLO's Everyday Food and Whole Living brands. She joins from Fairchild Fashion Media, where she was Publisher of WWD Beauty Inc.

More than seven in 10 mobile users are open to, or already, using their smartphones or tablets as part of the car-buying process, a new survey finds. The study by mobile ad network Verve Wireless also indicates nearly half recall seeing an automotive ad on their device in the last 30 days. When people are researching auto purchases, the main types of information they’re looking for is material about a particular model (40%), photos (38%), and dealership locations (25%). The kinds of vehicles people are interested in are fairly diversified, with SUVs leading the way (15), followed by sports cars …

CBS and Turner Broadcasting coverage of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament say they have scored the highest average viewership in 21 years for the first big day – Thursday -- of the month long event. Airing multiple games on CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV for the second year yield 4% higher viewers over the 2011 tournament to average 7.7 million. Network executives say it was the most watched “first Thursday” since 1991. The network says it broke down ratings of the big initial all-day Thursday second round into “four” windows of multiple games …

One of the major “task sponsors” in NBC's Celebrity Apprentice” has a major problem with Donald Trump’s kids travails around an African safari hunt in which several animals were killed – and revealed in gruesome photographs. According to several reports, Marcus Lemonis chairman/CEO of Good Sam and Camping World, said company won’t be advertising or sponsoring any segment in the show “in the future” – even though he doesn’t blame Donald Trump or the show. Trump, in speaking to TMZ.com, who originally broke the story, said …

The display ad-pooling partnership announced by Yahoo, AOL and Microsoft in November is now operational, with the companies now offering each other’s unsold inventory, according to a Yahoo blog post today. The alliance was formed to help the traditional Web portals expand their reach for advertisers while aiming to stem inroads made by Facebook and Google into the display ad space. Yahoo’s and AOL’s non-reserved inventory on premium pages will be offered through Right Media Exchange, while Microsoft’s inventory will remain on the Microsoft Advertising Exchange at launch. Read more here.

Not everyone at the Apple Store in Washington, D.C.’s posh Georgetown neighborhood will be there to buy a new iPad on Friday. Those protesting working conditions at Apple factories in China plan to demonstrate outside that retail location Friday in connection with the launch of the third-generation Apple tablet. The effort stems from a petition launched by an Apple user on Change.org in January asking Apple to prevent workplace abuses attracted 250,000 supporters. The signatures were subsequently delivered to six Apple Stores around the world. Apple last month tapped an outside organization, the Fair Labor Association, to audit conditions …