Seven years later, we’re still asking the wrong questions about the iPad
When Apple’s iPad was first announced seven years ago today, some people wondered whether it would work as a giant phone. It’s hard to imagine now, given that talking on the phone is a dying art form. But this morning I was reminded (thanks, Facebook) of a photo someone took of me on January 27th, 2010 using a large piece of cardboard as a proxy for the real iPad; it was pressed up to the side of my face like I was making a phone call with it. It was intentionally ridiculous. It was the wrong question to ask.
It turns out that having 3G wireless — or 4G or 5G — on a device like the iPad is an important feature, not for making phone calls but for constant access to data services, in an era when our personal computing needs have surpassed…
