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Today Marks the 11th Anniversary of Steve Jobs Unveiling the iPad

I remember getting the original iPad (perhaps not Day 1 but very soon after) and everyone who saw it either said "Its pointless, its just a big iPhone" or were desperate to have a look. There's not been a product I can think of recently, where people were so amazed to see one in the wild (or were that curious) they would ask to have a look.

Mine is, and always has been indispensable.
 
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Maconplasma said:
And at initial launch this very forum trashed the iPad with several sanitary napkin and big iPod Touch jokes which were just rude AF. Glad that Apple showed the haters that the iPad has a big place in the tech industry and nearly every business uses them.
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This forum is 0/infinity on betting against Apple. The iPad is a fantastic product that gets better every year.
 
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Phil A. said:
My dad is still using my old original iPad - I asked him about it at Christmas and he said it still works great. He also finally learned to use FaceTime at Christmas (on an iPhone I gave him, not the iPad which doesn't have a camera) and now uses it all the time :)
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I used an iPad 2 I bought in 2011 until I got the Pro in 2018. Honestly I'd still be using it if I wan't so wowed by how great the redesign was in 2018. Amazing how long they last :)
 
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iPads have become my kids' go-to gadget - have the 2018 and 2019 regular models.

Still rocking the first generation iPad mini too which is used on the Osmo learning kit. The battery is still decent and the OS remains fluid! Great product.
 
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I have had the latest and greatest iPad every year until 2019. I always got the most memory and a modem when available. The 12.9" was too big to carry around so I have the 11" with 1 Gbyte and Verizon. Have the Bridge keyboard. The incremental updates for the 11" the last two times were to small to justify replacing the current unit. I have had all versions of the mini iPads and upgraded to the recent 7" mini so it could be kept current on the operating system. I always get max memory and a modem.

Rumors are starting now that Apple might put a data modem into a laptop. If that event occurs, the 12.9" iPad necessity could be done away with if the laptop is in the 13" class with the new "M" class chips.

Two years ago I was flying a 100,000 miles per year and the 11 iPad could be opened on the airline table in front of me. The 11" MacBook Air was ideal as well unless one was in first class. My current 16"MacBook Pro would stay in it's case and I would use the 11" iPad that also fits into the MacCase leather carrying bag.
 
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mateytate said:
I remember getting the original iPad (perhaps not Day 1 but very soon after) and everyone who saw it either said "Its pointless, its just a big iPhone" or were desperate to have a look. There's not been a product I can think of recently, where people were so amazed to see one in the wild (or were that curious) they would ask to have a look.

Mine is, and always has been indispensable.
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People had similar reactions to my TiBook; and they better have that once I get my AirPods Max. I paid way too much to not be the center of attention with them. 😆
 
I got the iPad Pro 2020 12,9” and it’s by far the worst buy I ever made based on reviews and articles saying that it’s a laptop replacement. This is truly an iPhone but bigger , the OS follows the same path as iOS (instead of MacOS) in updates and features , it doesn’t even have a page file system to keep Apps alive.
 
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I remember the announcement. The muted applause for most of the demonstration and then the gasp that it was only $499 to start. Everyone kept expecting a netbook competitor instead of something different. People still trash the device as a content consumer only but clearly it is usable for many. I’m just surprised the giant iPhones haven’t taken away that market.
 
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My 2 year old uses my old iPad 2 and my 6 year old gets the Air 1. I can't believe the Air is older than he is, it works like new.


The iPad 2 is still useful for kids, I think kid software publishers know they're still in tiny hands. PBS Kids, Youtube Kids, Sesame Street-- it all works on that 10 year old device. The battery still lasts a week easy.
 
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Vasilisxd said:
I got the iPad Pro 2020 12,9” and it’s by far the worst buy I ever made based on reviews and articles saying that it’s a laptop replacement. This is truly an iPhone but bigger , the OS follows the same path as iOS (instead of MacOS) in updates and features , it doesn’t even have a page file system to keep Apps alive.
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All of which you could easily have determined before buying.
 
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I have had an iPad since they were just released, iPad, iPad Mini, iPad Pro, and iPad Air. I love them. and wouldn't be without.

HOWEVER, my complaint 11 years ago (and still) is that the iPad cannot be used as a phone! It would be so easy to add that functionality, and I know Apple would loose iPhone sales if they added it to the iPad, but come on. I actually would be happy if I could use an iPad as a phone (of course in combination with Airpod Pros), and then go without an actual iPhone...
 
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Killerbob said:
I have had an iPad since they were just released, iPad, iPad Mini, iPad Pro, and iPad Air. I love them. and wouldn't be without.

HOWEVER, my complaint 11 years ago (and still) is that the iPad cannot be used as a phone! It would be so easy to add that functionality, and I know Apple would loose iPhone sales if they added it to the iPad, but come on. I actually would be happy if I could use an iPad as a phone (of course in combination with Airpod Pros), and then go without an actual iPhone...
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So say we all.
 
1madman1 said:
I bought an iPad launch week, couldn't figure out what it was for and returned it a week later. Tried again with the 3rd gen and again later with the Air, both of which just collected dust and were resold within a year.

The OS has too many restrictions for integration in my workflow. I can't even stand using them for casual internet due to a lack of options for the browser (why no autoplay block or at least a true 3rd party browser???).

I really liked my Apple Newton 130 though.
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A lot of people at work got them at launch. It was HUGE in our academic / office setting. Nobody had laptops back then so it was replacing a literal paper notebook at meetings. I don't recall it syncing data back then, at least not to our Windows machines so all your notes just lived on the iPad. People used them even at their desk. It was only 11 years ago but I think we had Windows XP? Dark ages.
 
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Still got mine, the battery is still amazingly good. Mind you, you cant really do anything on it nowadays but it still works!
 
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Killerbob said:
I have had an iPad since they were just released, iPad, iPad Mini, iPad Pro, and iPad Air. I love them. and wouldn't be without.

HOWEVER, my complaint 11 years ago (and still) is that the iPad cannot be used as a phone! It would be so easy to add that functionality, and I know Apple would loose iPhone sales if they added it to the iPad, but come on. I actually would be happy if I could use an iPad as a phone (of course in combination with Airpod Pros), and then go without an actual iPhone...
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You could get cellular/LTE data on your iPad with Google Voice to use it as a phone (voice, text). I've heard there are the occasional bugs/issues and that it's not quite as reliable as a regular cellular connection, but it's doable if you're willing to live with some of the shortcomings.

On topic, my iPad 2 died some years ago, but by that time I was pretty much just using it as a multimedia device (mostly video) on flights. It would still be useful for that use case, but I am perfectly satisfied between my phone and my laptop at this point.

That said, the iPad was a gamechanger for a lot of folks, especially businesses. I've worked with a number of clients who use their iPads on factory floors, retail environments, etc.
 
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Iphone replaced traditional phones.
I think Jobs’ long term goal was to replace laptops with ipads but Apple haven’t delivered on that
 
rum0rm0nger said:
You could get cellular/LTE data on your iPad with Google Voice to use it as a phone (voice, text). I've heard there are the occasional bugs/issues and that it's not quite as reliable as a regular cellular connection, but it's doable if you're willing to live with some of the shortcomings.
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Sadly too many shortcomings for it to fit in with the ecosystem, AW etc.
 
I love my iPad, it is an amazing device, at the beginning I did not believed in that, it seemed to me like a giant phone, but when I tried it the first time at a reseller shop, I bought and used it since then, in the future I want to try changing my laptop for an iPad with pencil and keyboard.
 
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