As a groundbreaking piece of technology, tablet computers are between the size and functionality of a smartphone and a laptop computer. Tablet computers are handheld and are primarily operated using a touch screen. Microsoft attempted to develop a mainstream tablet computer, but its model had price and functionality problems. In 2010, Apple introduced a product that succeeded where earlier tablet computers had failed.

On this day, April 3, in 2010, Apple’s iPad went on sale for the first time. The Apple iPad has a variety of features, including books, periodicals, movies, music, games, apps, and web content. The iPad operates on the same operating system, iOS, as the Apple iPod Touch and iPhone. The original iPad was offered in a Wi-Fi model, but  a Wi-Fi + 3G model was introduced shortly thereafter.

Apple’s iPad created a consumer frenzy and changed the market for tablet computing forever. Within 80 days, Apple sold 3 million iPads. By the end of 2010, it had sold 15 million. The iPad’s 2010 sales surpassed sales totals for all other tablet computers available at the time. The success of the iPad led Apple to develop the iPad 2 in March of 2011. To date, more than 55 million iPads have been sold. Apple’s iPad product has more than 80 percent of the total tablet-computer market share in the United States.