When 2010 began, the software that ran the iPhone and iPod touch was still called “iPhone OS”; by the end of the year, it had been rechristened iOS. You don’t have to look any further than that to see this was the year that Apple’s mobile operating system found itself on equal footing with its venerable Mac OS X counterpart. Combined with a category-busting new product, a pilfered iPhone prototype, and antenna woes, the past year of iOS devices is something that we’ll really never forget.
iPad, therefore I am
By the end of 2009, the frenzy over an Apple tablet had hit a level usually reserved for teen pop sensations and political arguments. Apple didn’t wait long to deliver, either: at a special event on January 27, Steve Jobs took the stage at the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco and introduced the iPad.
The tablet’s most prominent feature was its larger footprint, with a 9.7-inch screen in place of the 3.5-inch display of the iPhone and iPod touch. Also impressive were its larger battery, which Jobs said could last for an impressive 26 days in standby mode, and its 1GHz A4 processor, designed and built by Apple itself. Though the 3G-enabled iPad necessitated staying tethered to AT&T, the deal was somewhat sweetened by a no-contract plan that let users pay on a monthly basis when they needed it.
While the iPad would come with many—though not all—of the same apps as the iPhone (albeit designed for the larger screen), Apple also unveiled a handful of apps that took specific advantage of the tablet: iBooks, an e-reader with an accompanying e-books store, and tablet-optimized versions of the company’s entire iWork suite.
Because the device wasn’t due to ship for more than two months after its announcement, the speculation over whether or not Apple would create a tablet switched to whether or not it would be any once it arrived. Many critics decried it as merely a “big iPhone,” but others—including yours truly—wondered if this wasn’t a more substantial shift in the direction of computing.
Then consumers delivered their verdict: The iPad sold 300,000 units in the first day of its availability, and hit the one million sakes mark within 28 days. In the fourth quarter of 2010, Apple sold 4.19 million of the brand new tablets—compared to 3.89 million Macs. In fewer than three quarters of availability, the company managed to move 7.5 million of the new devices.
more at: itnews.com
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