Apple’s rather iconic iPad is 11 years old as of today — and some of them are still going strong. Well… strong-ish, anyway.
I’m reminded (via MacRumors, to give credit where it’s due) that the original iPad — that very first, slightly chunky, its-an-iPod-Touch-on-steroids model — was announced precisely 11 years ago today (allowing for international datelines).
Sadly for me, while I wrote a LOT about that original iPad, relatively little of it remains online thanks to mergers, redirects and the death of quite a few publications that were around back then. All I can find right now is this comparison I wrote between the iPad and Amazon’s Kindle for Geekspeak.
What can be found — because it’s still online — is Apple’s press release around it.
It’s rather entertaining, really. Here’s some choice quotes:
Magical & Revolutionary Device at an Unbelievable Price
Yes, Apple really did lean hard into that whole “Magical & Revolutionary” business in its official communications. That’s not a random line from the release. That’s the headline.
iPad features 12 next-generation Multi-Touch applications.
There’s just a few more apps now. One or two.
iPad syncs with iTunes just like the iPhone and iPod touch, using the standard Apple 30-pin to USB cable
Ah, the 30 pin connector. Remember those? These days Apple’s busy switching to USB C for its iPads (and hopefully its iPhones too in short order).
Apple’s advanced chemistry and Adaptive Charging technology deliver up to 1,000 charge cycles without a significant decrease in battery capacity over a typical five year lifespan.
OK, that’s an interesting statistic. You see, while in hardware terms it’s way, WAY out of date, I still have the original model iPad I bought on day one of its availability here in Australia.
It still charges, it still runs. Or… well, plods, if I’m being totally accurate. Still, one of the reasons I do like Apple’s hardware generally is the durability, and this is a good example of just that.
Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh.
This line used to be standard at the end of every Apple press release. It doesn’t get a run any more, and I’ve no idea why. I guess Apple just doesn’t want to remember the Apple II any more.