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Today Marks the 11th Anniversary of Steve Jobs Unveiling the iPad
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The iPad is great and has been kept so because of Apple's iron grip on what apps can run on it. However, it will never be a computer for everyone because some people want to run the apps they like on their computer that may not have an iPad version. The problem with the iPad is that it does everything your phone already does and only a part of what your computer does (they keep adding more to make it more computer like because they want more people to own one). So it can't replace either one, that means your paying hundreds more for a superior experience in a very limited field that Apple chooses for you. If iPad was its own company they would have made the iPad a full blown desktop computer and laptop computer replacement that changes its interface depending on how you want to use it. That is the product I would want to own and constantly upgrade because that would be my main computer I would take with me everywhere, no compromises, no redundant products where you end up spending $2,000 just to be able to have a device in your pocket, one on the couch, and one on your desk that have different apps on each and all your files are not on them unless you put them were apple tells you to put them. Theres still room for improvement as far as iPads go.
The only thing I remember from the keynote was how the $500 price shocked everyone. In the days leading up analysts were predicting $700 - $1000 (with most closer to $1000) so the lower price was amazing.
Here's an article from shortly after: https://www.csmonitor.com/Technolog...e-Apple-iPad-cost-Same-as-the-original-iPhone
Here's an article from shortly after: https://www.csmonitor.com/Technolog...e-Apple-iPad-cost-Same-as-the-original-iPhone
i use mine to skype with my grandparents. that's about it)
The original iPad was probably one of the best example of Jobs' reality distortion field. In the announcement, you could feel that it was an amazing device. In reality, it was a dud, with paltry 256MB of RAM (even less than the iPhone 4) and was only supported for like 2 years. The iPad 2 is leaps and bounds in terms of improvement.
11 years later we still get one iOS workaround at a time to accommodate multitasking and a regular workflow, compared to full OSX. I do love the iPad, the 2018 Pros and 2020 Air are engineering beauty, but it still feels like a very confused device that lingers between a large iPhone and not-quite-a-Mac-yet.
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My iPad 2 has run every single day since launch day. Today it serves as a weather monitor, still running Yahoo Weather on iOS 9--mounted to the wall in my kitchen. The battery is still decent as I've kept it plugged in 99.9% of the time.
I remember the introduction well. Looking back, it really was just a large screened iPhone at the time, made primarily for consumption of info. Not that there is anything wrong with that, it just wasn’t a laptop replacement or the future of computing. It took Apple another 10 years to make the iPad Pro usable as a daily driver computing device, imho.
And I haven’t used a MacBook since the smart connector keyboard came out. iPad pro 9.7, iPad pro 12.9 2nd gen for many years, and now an iPad Air. I love my computer replacement.
Here is the original MacRumors forum discussion on the iPad launch.
The haters always gather in full force for these events and reading their comments 10 years later show just how wrong they were.
I know I originally poked fun at the iPad when Steve originally announced it. I ultimately caved and purchased the original and haven't looked back. The iPad, for me, is a powerhouse for streaming especially now that I'm working from home. I couldn't imagine not having it. It's such an awesome device.
I love my iPads, especially the Pro with Apple Pencil. It has changed my creative workflow, and I never thought that the original iPad would turn into such a powerful creative tool that it is today!
Ordered the original first gen iPad the day they opened orders for it. Loved the device but realized when the new ones came out and Apple stopped providing updates to the OS for the first gen that Apple was really expecting me to toss it in a landfill and buy a new one every couple of years like an iPhone, so haven't gotten one since. When they start supporting them for five or more years then I'll think about getting another.
I use my IPP 12.9 for almost everything. I’m even considering doing my next book (illustrations) on it instead of my desktop Mac. The IPP 12.9 is my favorite piece of Apple Tech I’ve ever owned I think. Useful and powerful. And with the Apple Pencil it’s a truly portable, never exhausted sketch book that has access to hundreds of different media/mediums. Amazing.
2010 IPad was the first casual pop on line device that attracted the masses, but no camera. By the time 2011 IPad 2 came around Apple had a impressive 90% of the market. The 2nd model was thinner, faster, and had a camera, so the start of many later models. What a amazing progression from 1993 Newton MessagePad. 
I remember when he got it out and I thought "its just a big iPhone, what is the point of that thing"
Well I walked back my words pretty quickly after!
Well I walked back my words pretty quickly after!
I find it kind of funny - the comments that “The iPad isn’t a real computer, it’s dumb, I can’t use it to do the computer things I want to do.” OK. Then don’t use it. But I’d guess plenty of people do use it judging by sales numbers. And in my experience I use it all day and when I travel and for presentations. Some of my habits keep me on my desktop but I think that’s because I’m old and set in my work ways - but I seem to be switching over more and more. The key is every device doesn’t have to run 3 virtual machines and let you install some weird shell ETC. But to pretend that the iPad isn’t useful for anyone, and that it’s a failed device because YOU don’t use it is silly. I may dislike Windows but I can see that for some people it’s exactly what they want and or need.
I bought the first iPad shortly after launch, 64gb version, to 'future-proof' it, lol. Until the iPad 2 came out and was significantly better.
My iPad (7th gen) is the perfect media consumption device. It's probably my most used apple device that includes a lengthy list of products that are more expensive and maybe more important to the ecosystem (phone, computer, watch, etc.).
Also, for the $329 I paid, the best value proposition for any Apple product I have ever bought!
Also, for the $329 I paid, the best value proposition for any Apple product I have ever bought!
I bought the 1st Gen on the day it was released in the UK .. I was definitely *not* going to buy one but went to an Apple Store and after fiddling with one for about an hour I ended up buying the top of range 64Gb GPS version .. I still use it a few times a month mostly for books/streaming, the battery is also, astonishingly, very good and it is easy to handle (big bezels make great handgrips).
I bought an iPad mini 1st gen in 2012 and that still gets used everyday as a TV streamer and PDF reader. An iPad mini 4 is my portable machine of choice when out and about.
The only Windows machine I have is a recent purchase of an old HP ElitePad which looks like a widescreen version of the 1st Gen iPad complete with large bezels and proprietary connector!
I bought an iPad mini 1st gen in 2012 and that still gets used everyday as a TV streamer and PDF reader. An iPad mini 4 is my portable machine of choice when out and about.
The only Windows machine I have is a recent purchase of an old HP ElitePad which looks like a widescreen version of the 1st Gen iPad complete with large bezels and proprietary connector!
So when you take your family to the zoo, you have to throw an iPad in your pocket to take pictures?
WOW how did you manage to find that thread? Awesome find! I wish this could be on front page news. Thanks for this!
My 2014 iPad Mini 2 has outlasted multiple phones, Macs and is still rock solid - fav use nowadays (other than as backup if phone unavailable) is using a SanDisk Wireless Flash'USB 32GB to load on Movies from Mac USB and firing it up on a plane with bluetooth earphones - small, fits on tray, screen size is good. Thanks Steve.
What an awesome time. I was trying to replicate Windows on a small portable device for years already, of course that experience was atrocious. The iPad came along and just blew everyone away. Without the iPad we would have never moved past the junk that was available at that time, but now we have tablets like the Surface Pro. Jobs definitely deserves so much credit for repackaging and pushing this paradigm in such a genius way.