The Launch: iPad Goes on Sale

There is a line this week, and the line is the storefront: the Apple Stores that opened on Saturday morning, the Best Buy aisles that filled, the crowds that came before the doors. The line is the launch: the iPad that went on sale on April 3, the pre-orders that had sold out in days, the queues that wrapped around the blocks. The line is the April 2010 story, and the story is the lesson: the tablet that the pundits doubted, the device that the public wanted, the launch that felt like the iPhone again.

The Launch is the subject of this article: what happened when the iPad went on sale, how many were sold in the first days, what the reviewers found, what the industry feared, and what the new device means for Apple and for the decade ahead.

1. The Saturday Morning

The morning is the moment, and the moment is the third of April: the Wi-Fi iPads that went on sale across the United States, the Apple Stores that opened their doors, the Best Buy shelves that carried the tablet, the first day of the new category. The morning is the crowd: the long lines that formed before sunrise, the customers who waited for hours, the first units that left the stores, the feeling in the air that this was an event, the report from the faithful that it felt like the iPhone launch again.

The morning is also the sign: the launch day that looked like the old Apple, the spectacle that the company had not staged in years, the product that people had to hold before they believed. The morning is the proof: the demand that the January unveiling had promised, the lines that the skeptics had not predicted, the device that the public was already carrying home. The Saturday morning was the beginning, and the beginning was the bet: the tablet that would be tested in the stores, the category that would be judged by the queues, the launch that opened the year of the iPad.

2. The Pre-Orders

The pre-orders are the demand, and the demand is the March: the reservations that opened on the twelfth of March, the Wi-Fi models that were promised for April, the web forms that filled within days, the stock that was gone before the stores ever opened. The pre-orders are the measure: the hundreds of thousands who committed before the reviews, the customers who bought sight unseen, the trust that the iPhone had earned, the faith that carried over to the tablet.

The pre-orders are also the warning: the supply that could not keep up, the dates that slipped for the latecomers, the wait lists that grew through the month, the hunger that the company had not fully expected. The pre-orders are the April 2010 reading: the demand that was real, the market that was waiting, the category that was not dead after all. The pre-orders were the evidence, and the evidence was the launch: the device that sold out in days, the lines that followed, the numbers that would come.

3. The First Numbers

The numbers are the score, and the score is the first day: the more than three hundred thousand iPads that Apple said were sold on April 3, the hundreds of thousands more by the weekend, the count that kept climbing through the first week. The numbers are the report: the company that released the figures, the analysts who checked them, the records that were compared, the tablet that outsold the predictions.

The numbers are also the books: the more than six hundred thousand iBooks that were downloaded in the same days, the bookstore that launched with the device, the reading that arrived with the tablet, the content that would pay alongside the hardware. The numbers are the April 13 reading: the launch that was a success by any measure, the sales that silenced the doubters, the business that was already building. The first numbers were the answer, and the answer was the demand: the iPad that sold hundreds of thousands of units, the apps that followed, the ecosystem that began.

4. The Apps

The apps are the canvas, and the canvas is the screen: the nine point seven inch display that asked for new designs, the App Store section that appeared for the iPad, the developers who rushed out their titles for launch day. The apps are the rush: the studios that worked through the winter, the games that were rebuilt for the bigger screen, the magazines that were reimagined as layouts, the software that had to be ready when the stores opened.

The apps are also the strategy: the hundred and forty thousand iPhone apps that already ran on the tablet, the new iPad apps that would show what the device could do, the developers who bet on the category, the platform that grew with every download. The apps are the April 2010 story: the software that made the hardware worth buying, the ecosystem that was the real product, the App Store that was already the engine. The apps were the promise, and the promise was the platform: the iPad that arrived with a library, the developers who followed the sales, the section that would define the year.

5. The Reviews

The reviews are the verdict, and the verdict is the praise: the early reviews that were strong, the reviewers who were won over, the acknowledgment that the tablet category finally had a standard, the notices that arrived before the second weekend. The reviews are the caveats: the Flash that was missing, the camera that was absent, the multitasking that was still to come, the limits that the reviewers listed beside the praise.

The reviews are also the argument: the device that was called a consumption machine, the creation that was left to the laptops, the reading and watching and playing that it did beautifully, the writing and editing that it did not. The reviews are the mid-April reading: the tablet that won the reviewers, the caveats that stayed in the copy, the honest assessment that the best device was not a perfect one. The reviews were the word, and the word was the launch: the strong notices that helped the sales, the caveats that fueled the debate, the device that was loved and argued over in the same week.

6. The Pundit War

The war is the argument, and the argument is the category: the pundits who called the iPad a third category, a new kind of device between the laptop and the phone, and the pundits who called it a giant iPod touch, an oversized toy with nothing new inside. The war is the split: the believers who saw the future, the skeptics who saw the hype, the columns that traded blows through the winter, the debate that did not end when the device went on sale.

The war is also the score: the lines at the stores that favored the believers, the sales that made the skeptics pause, the reviews that gave ground to both sides, the argument that would run for years. The war is the January inheritance: the unveiling that started the fight, the launch that tested the claims, the numbers that were now in. The pundit war was the noise, and the noise was the launch: the debate that kept the iPad in the news, the arguments that sold the story, the category that was being argued into existence.

7. The PC Industry

The industry is the watcher, and the watcher is the PC world: the netbook makers who saw their little laptops threatened, the notebook brands who studied the price, the hardware giants who watched the lines, the companies that had dismissed the tablet for a decade. The industry is the nervousness: the categories that the iPad touched, the netbooks that suddenly looked cheap, the laptops that felt heavy, the margins that were already thin.

The industry is also the question: the response that would come, the tablets that were suddenly in every roadmap, the copycats that were being designed, the race that the iPad had started. The industry is the April 2010 context: the PC market that was mature, the growth that was slowing, the new device that arrived at the worst time. The PC industry was the audience, and the audience was the point: the launch that everyone watched, the threat that everyone measured, the tablet that changed the math.

8. The Post-PC Bet

The bet is the business, and the business is the new line: the hardware that sold at four hundred ninety nine dollars, the apps that took their share, the iBooks that brought the bookstore, the revenue that flowed from one device. The bet is the bundle: the device that made money at the register, the store that made money on every download, the content that made money on every book, the machine that printed from three sides.

The bet is also the narrative: the talk that the PC era was ending, the whisper that the next decade belonged to these devices, the sense that something had turned on Saturday morning. The bet is the April 2010 story, and the story is the lesson: the launch on the third, the pre-orders that sold out, the hundreds of thousands in the first days, the device that was a new category and a new business at once. The post-PC bet is the beginning, and the beginning is the year: the iPad that is on sale, the lines that keep forming, the future that is being sold one tablet at a time.

# The Launch: iPad Goes on Sale