The iPad turns 10. It was April 3, 2010 when the Apple tablet first hit the shelves launching a product - the tablet - which today is a constant presence among hi-tech devices, alongside phones and computers.
The iPad had been shown to the world for the first time on January 27, 2010 by Steve Jobs, who on a San Francisco stage had unveiled the news in front of a rather skeptical audience. At the time, it was hard to imagine what a screen larger than a phone could do, but that didn't work like a phone, and that it didn't have a keyboard to write like a laptop. A middle ground between a smartphone and a PC, apparently without a reason for use.
Jobs provided this reason, presenting the first iPad as the object that offered "the best browsing experience on the net", as well as having a large enough screen (9.7 inches) to read emails and ebooks well, browse photos , watch movies and play video games. Not a middle ground, but a third category of product.
On the first day of sale, the iPads purchased were 300 thousand, and in less than two months they exceeded two million, to close 2010 at 7.5 million units. The following year they reached 32 million, then 58 million in 2012, and in 2013 - the best year - 71 million. To date, the figure has exceeded 350 million.
In the meantime, the iPad has changed, Air, Mini and Pro have made themselves with different sizes and characteristics, added a pencil to draw and a detachable keyboard to write, has equipped its own operating system and has been candidate to replace the pc. "Your next computer is not a computer" is the claim of the latest iPad Pro, launched on the market just a week ago.