Apple confirmed to AllThingsD today that it has recalled a very small number of Verizon iPad 2 models after the products were inadvertently shipped with identical electronic serial numbers.

The numbers, officially known as mobile equipment identifiers (MEIDs), are important in the activation of devices that use Verizon's cellular network and are designed to be unique to the individual device.

"Duplicate MEID numbers were flashed onto an extremely small number of iPad 2 units for the Verizon 3G network," an Apple representative said today.

Although most of the small number of devices involved were still in the process of hitting the market, a few had already found their way into customers' hands.

Word of the issue had cropped up on various Apple enthusiast blogs, including 9to5Mac.

Apple said at its developer conference on Monday that it has sold 25 million iPads since the original tablet debuted last year and some analysts believe it could sell another 8 million this quarter. However, there have been some issues along the way, including a deadly May 20 explosion at a Foxconn plant in China believed to be manufacturing the iPad 2.

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