The iPad(/’a?pæd/ eye-pad) is an iOS-based line of tablet computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPad was released on April 3, 2010; the most recent iPad models are the 9.7-inch iPad Pro released on March 31, 2016 and the iPad Mini 4, released on September 9, 2015. The user interface is built around the device’s multi-touch screen, including a virtual keyboard. The iPad includes built-in Wi-Fi and cellular connectivity on select models. As of January 2015, there have been over 250 million iPads sold.[7] IPad tablets are second most popular, by sales, against Android-based ones, since 2013, when Android tablet sales increased by 127%.[18]
An iPad can shoot video, take photos, play music, and perform Internet functions such as web-browsing and emailing. Other functions – games, reference, GPS navigation, social networking, etc. – can be enabled by downloading and installing apps. As of October 2013, the App Store has more than 475, 000 native apps by Apple and third parties.[19]
There have been six versions of the iPad. The first generation established design precedents, such as the 9.7-inch screen size and button placement, that have persisted through all models. The 2nd generation iPad(iPad 2) introduced a whole new design which also added a dual-core Apple A5 processor and VGA front-facing and 720p rear-facing cameras designed for FaceTime video calling, and dramatically reduced the thickness of the device. The third generation added a Retina Display, the new Apple A5X processor with a quad-core graphics processor, a 5-megapixel camera, HD 1080p video recording, voice dictation, and 4G(LTE). The fourth generation added the Apple A6X processor and replaces the 30-pin connector with an all-digital Lightning connector. The iPad Air added the Apple A7 processor and the Apple M7 motion coprocessor, and reduced the thickness for the first time since the iPad 2. The iPad Air 2 added the Apple A8X processor, the Apple M8 motion coprocessor, an 8-megapixel camera, and the Touch ID fingerprint sensor, and further reduced the thickness.
There have been four versions of the iPad Mini. The first generation features a reduced screen size of 7.9 inches and features similar internal specifications as the iPad 2 except it uses the Lightning connector. The iPad Mini 2 features the Retina Display, the Apple A7 processor and the Apple M7 motion coprocessor, closely matching the internals specifications of the iPad Air. The iPad Mini 3 strategy is really simple. What we want to do is we want to put an incredibly great computer in a book that you can carry around with you and learn how to use in 20 minutes . and we really want to do it with a radio link in it so you don’t have to hook up to anything and you’re in communication with all of these larger databases and other computers.
Apple’s first tablet computer was the Newton MessagePad 100, [21][22] introduced in 1993, powered by an ARM6 processor core developed by ARM, a 1990 spinout of Acorn Computers in which Apple invested. Apple also developed a prototype PowerBook Duo based tablet, the PenLite, but decided not to sell it in order to avoid hurting MessagePad sales.[23] Apple released several more Newton-based PDAs; the final one, the MessagePad 2100, was discontinued in 1998.
Apple re-entered the mobile-computing markets in 2007 with the iPhone. Smaller than the iPad, but featuring a camera and mobile phone, it pioneered the multi-touch finger-sensitive touchscreen interface of Apple’s iOS mobile operating system. By late 2009, the iPad’s release had been rumored for several years. Such speculation mostly talked about "Apple’s tablet"; specific names included iTablet and iSlate.[24] The iPad was announced on January 27, 2010, by Steve Jobs at an Apple press conference at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco.[25][26]
Jobs later said that Apple had begun developing the iPad before the iPhone.[27][28] Jonathan Ive in 1991 had created an industrial design for a stylus-based tablet, the Macintosh Folio, as his first project for Apple; by 2004 his studio at the company was participating in the development of a large tablet prototype, which he later described as "very crude, involving projectors". Ive stated that after seeking to produce the tablet first, he came to agree with Jobs that the phone was more important, [29] as the tablet’s innovations would work as well in it.[30] The iPad’s internal codename was K48, which was revealed in the court case surrounding leaking of iPad information before launch.[31]
Apple began taking pre-orders for the first-generation iPad on March 12, 2010.[3] The only major change to the device between its announcement and being available to pre-order was the change of the behavior of the side switch to perform either sound muting or screen rotation locking(user selectable).[32] The Wi-Fi version of the iPad went on sale in the United States on April 3, 2010.[3][33] The Wi-Fi+ 3G version was released on April 30.[3][4][4] 3G service in the United States is provided by AT&T and was initially sold with two prepaid contract-free data plan options: one for unlimited data and the other for 250 MB per month at half the price.[34][35] On June 2, 2010, AT&T announced that effective June 7 the unlimited plan would be replaced for new customers with a 2 GB plan at slightly lower cost; existing customers would have the option to keep the unlimited plan.[36] The plans are activated on the iPad itself and can be cancelled at any time.[37]
Initially, the iPad was only available to order at the Apple Store, but has since become available for purchase through retailers including Amazon, Walmart, and network operators. The iPad was launched in countries including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan and the United Kingdom on May 28.[38][39] Online pre-orders in those countries began on May 10.[4] Apple released the iPad in Hong Kong, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand and Singapore on July 23, 2010.[40][41][42] Israel briefly prohibited importation of the iPad because of concerns that its Wi-Fi might interfere with other devices.[43] On September 17, 2010, the iPad wfeatures the Touch ID fingerprint sensor. The iPad Mini 4 features the Apple A