Read reactions to the original Apple iPad announcement, six years ago today
By
Read reactions to the original Apple iPad announcement, six years ago today
The Apple iPad was announced exactly six years ago today. Since then, it's evolved into the iPad Air, and a Mini version and a larger Pro version have come along too. But what was the reaction like when Steve Jobs first announced it?
Here's some selections from the macrumors thread discussing the announcement (don't forget, Macrumors is an Apple fan site):
"This is a giant iPhone, there's no other way to put it. You can love it, you can hate it but in the end it is a giant iPhone. Not revolutionary at all."
"Ha, two days ago everyone was saying that it wouldn't be called iPad because it's innuendo and that an e-reader wouldn't be called iBooks because they already used iBook."
"Bigger fail than macbook air and apple tv combined... all those years of waiting and all the hype...."
"The keynote could have been 5 minutes long. "Hey we took the iPhone and made it bigger, booya!" I can't believe this is it."
"Nice but where the heck is this meant to fit in the market? It is too big and expensive to replace a phone (not to mention the fact that it doesn't have calling) but it definitely can't replace a computer at only 64gb and not running most mac apps. So where does this come in? The netbook market. Rich dudes who can afford an iPhone several macs and this. I'm sorry but its a sweet product with no market."
"I have no need for a giant iPhone...the slim netbooks running OS X with 9 hours battery life will eat this thing for breakfast at a price of only $299."
"Too much bezel in the device, waste of real estate. If they could shrink the case to fit the display better it would be more beneficial."
"Is it just me, or are all the screens scratched on the photos of the iPad on the Apple site? Really noticeable on the pricing page."
"I can picture buying this and using it exclusively in the bathroom while I go number two..."
It wasn't all bad though, as one user put it: "WELCOME TO THE FUTURE, PEOPLE! Homerun."
We also loved this guy's response: "I can't wait till they make a pocket version of it..."
What did we think of the original iPad? We called it "Sheer tablet brilliance". In fact, we dedicated eight (!) pages to it in our review.
And if you want to relive the original announcement for yourself (one of Jobs' strangest presentations, due to him sitting in an armchair for half the presentation) here it is:
Source: MacRumors
