Apple has sold more than 55 million iPads since its January 2010 introduction. Here's a look back at that event.
James Martin
James Martin is the Managing Editor of Photography at CNET.
His photos capture technology's impact on society - from the widening wealth gap in San Francisco, to the European refugee crisis and Rwanda's efforts to improve health care.
From the technology pioneers of Google and Facebook, photographing Apple's Steve Jobs and Tim Cook, Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and Google's Sundar Pichai, to the most groundbreaking launches at Apple and NASA, his is a dream job for any documentary photography and journalist with a love for technology.
Exhibited widely, syndicated and reprinted thousands of times over the years, James follows the people and places behind the technology changing our world, bringing their stories and ideas to life.
If Steve Jobs' January 27, 2010, introduction of the original iPad is any indication, we're sure that the March 8 unveiling of the next-generation iPad in San Francisco will bring lots of excitement.
At that 2010 unveiling, Jobs proclaimed that "what this device does is extraordinary." The images that follow illustrate how Apple's co-founder and then-CEO launched an era of extraordinary interest in the iPad, resulting in more than 55 million devices sold worldwide (and counting).
2 of 23 James Martin
With the iPad, Jobs said, you can "[hold] the Internet in your hands. It's an incredible experience."
3 of 23 James Martin
Jobs demoed map viewing on the iPad with Google's satellite view of the Eiffel Tower.
4 of 23 James Martin/CNET
The iPad became a popular photo-viewing device. Users can flick through photos by viewing them right in the frame.
5 of 23 James Martin/CNET
Jobs mused about whether there was room for a device between a smartphone and a laptop. Enter the iPad, he said, which provides a better way to view e-mail, photos, video, and Web sites.
6 of 23 James Martin/CNET
The iPad's default e-mail interface, Jobs said, provided a nearly full-size virtual keyboard that is "a dream to type on."
7 of 23 James Martin/CNET
A view of a subway map displayed within the e-mail app.
8 of 23 James Martin/CNET
Jobs held up the iPad.
9 of 23 James Martin/CNET
iTunes on the iPad shows full album covers in a grid layout.
10 of 23 James Martin/CNET
A view of the iTunes Store in iPad.
11 of 23 James Martin
Beautiful high-def video shown on the iPad.
12 of 23 James Martin
The original iPad was just a half inch thick, weighing 1.5 pounds.
13 of 23 James Martin
The iPad disrupted the publishing industry, allowing traditional newspaper to be read in a more comfortable digital format than was previously available.
14 of 23 James Martin
The original iPad had the A4 chip, the iPad 2 had the A5 chip, and it is expected that the next-generation iPad will have a chip called A6 that is designed to improve graphical capabilities and energy efficiency.
15 of 23 James Martin
The screen resolution is expected to increase from the iPad 2's 1,024x768 to 2,048x1,536. That's from 786,432 pixels to 3.14 million pixels.
16 of 23 James Martin
Facebook on the iPad. (The iPad now has a native Facebook app.)
17 of 23 James Martin/CNET
While the iPad 3 is expected to have a higher-resolution display that would be more taxing on the battery, Apple's (presumed) A6 processor may be more energy-efficient.
18 of 23 James Martin
An artist's sketch on the iPad.
19 of 23 James Martin
Art- and photo-editing tools on iPad.
20 of 23 James Martin
The iPad also enabled large-screen portable gaming.
21 of 23 James Martin
You can follow Major League Baseball games on the iPad with dynamic pitch-by-pitch updates.
22 of 23 James Martin
iBooks brought Apple into the world of e-book publishing.
