The 15 Most Important Technologies of the Last 15 Years – #3: The iPad

The sudden success of Apple’s iPhone allowed Steve Jobs to bring to fruition his original concept at a mobile device – the iPad. Few people know that it was the concept of a tablet device that Steve Jobs had initially envisioned, but during early development decided that a touch-based smartphone would be better received in the marketplace. For all the success of the iPhone, it was the eventual release of the iPad that has had a profound impact on the personal computer industry, much as Steve Jobs anticipated it would.

The iPhone definitely kicked off the mobile device revolution, but the commodity computing device for most people was still the personal computer, of which Microsoft’s Windows operating system was the dominant platform. Once the iPad was introduced, however, the marketplace quickly and decidedly shifted away from traditional laptops to Apple’s new tablet device. At first traditional computer manufactures dismissed at the idea of the “iPad effect” hurting their marketshare. But within three years, the PC industry saw its largest sales drop in recorded history and many competing tablets and tablet-like devices started appearing. It was clear the iPad had ended the PC era and ushered in the New World of Technology. Today, the impact of the iPad is undeniable across the computing industry as touch enabled devices are the norm, yet companies are still trying largely unsuccessfully to replicate the simplicity and power of Apple’s iPad.

How did the iPad change the way you use computers? Comment below!