Unopened first generation original Apple iPad, Model A1337, Part No. PC496LL/A, Serial No. GB048T3PETU. The box features a life-size image of the iPad with ten icons on the screen; labels on the reverse identify the model as "PC496LL/A iPad Wi-Fi 3G 32GB-USA," and describe the contents of the box: "Includes iPad with micro-SIM card, Dock Connector to USB Cables, and 10W USB Power Adapter." In brand new, factory-sealed mint condition.
Development of the iPad began as early as 2002, and Steve Jobs told Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher that the idea for the iPhone actually came from the development of the iPad: “I’ll tell you a secret. It began with the tablet. I had this idea about having a glass display, a multitouch display you could type on with your fingers. I asked our people about it. And six months later, they came back with this amazing display. And I gave it to one of our really brilliant UI guys. He got [rubber band] scrolling working and some other things, and I thought, ‘my God, we can build a phone with this!’ So we put the tablet aside, and we went to work on the iPhone.”
After the iPhone's massively successful release in 2007, Apple's engineers were free to return their focus to the tablet project—essentially bringing the iPhone's intuitive multi-touch interface to a much larger display, allowing it to be used more like a laptop or netbook. When introducing the first iPad on January 27, 2010, Steve Jobs promised: “iPad is our most advanced technology in a magical and revolutionary device at an unbelievable price… iPad creates and defines an entirely new category of devices that will connect users with their apps and content in a much more intimate, intuitive and fun way than ever before.” Since that time, the iPad has become the best-selling tablet computer series in history, with over 670 million units sold.
