In January 2010 Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced one more product of its very successful i-products. A tablet computer called iPad. It was released in April 2010 in the US and is already available in other countries as well.

But the iPad was by far not the first tablet computer. Apple started development of a touch based mobile device in 1987 and released the MessagePad in 1993. There were many other tablet computers during the time between the MessagePad and the iPad but none of them was very successful. A very interesting one was EMC’s WiiN-Pad which gave you the option to use a stylus, a finger or a virtual keyboard.

Like the iPhone and the iPod Touch the iPad uses the same user friendly multi-touch operating system. But with its 9.7 inch display it has a much bigger display. A bigger display offers many advantages but has some disadvantages too.

With an almost 10 inch display it is more convenient to read ebooks or newspapers. Some of the major newspapers already offer their content of the normal paper version on the iPad.

Browsing through the web is also easier than on smartphones with displays between 2.4 and 4.3 inches. With an almost normal sized virtual keyboard it is also quite possible to create content. This could be very interesting for people that update their weblogs or write a lot of emails on the go.

But a larger display also means that it is not as portable as smartphones like the iPhone. One more problem is that if you want to have the possibility to go online anytime and anywhere you need an extra data plan. For people that already pay for the smartphone data plan this could mean a no-go. For people that use a normal mobile phone, devices like the iPad could be very interesting.

In the last few years devices like netbooks, ebook readers and smartphones became very popular. The iPad is more expensive than these devices but combines many features of them. Recently Steve Jobs said in an interview that he thinks, because most users mostly consume content, devices like tablet computers or smartphones will replace personal computers like desktops or laptops in some areas in a typical private life. But it is also imaginable that Apple could be responsible for some market share losses for ebook reader- and netbook-producers as well. Also playing videogames becomes more and more popular on the iPad.

Apple products are lifestyle products. This is one reason why its products are so popular around the globe. Apple is a technology pioneer and for Apple it is very important that its products are easy to use, robust and stylish. So Apple invests a lot of money in R&D. That means that Apple products are more expensive compared to other brands which are maybe not that easy to use, tough and good looking.

Although Apple’s iPhone was not the first smartphone, it opened a new market three years ago. Many other phone makers developed and produced similar devices. The same will happen with ultramobile tablet computers like the iPad. Operating systems like Android (Google), MeeGo (Intel & Nokia), webOS (HP/Palm) and many others were or will be adapted to touch based devices with a screensize of more than 5 inches. Power efficient processors like the ARM based A4 in the iPad are available for a few months and even more powerful ones will hit the market later this year. Also new display technologies (dual mode) like PixelQi and Mirasol will be available soon. At Computex 2010 in Taipeh some companies have already shown very promising and cheaper devices similar to the iPad. With its innovative ideas and the implementation of a very user friendly OS into a thin and light touch based device Apple opened once more a very interesting market for other companies.