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Object Timeline

2010	Work on this object began.
2012	We acquired this object. We photographed this object.
2015	We photographed this object.
2024	You found it!

iPad Tablet Computer

This is a Tablet computer. It was designed by Apple Industrial Design Team and manufactured by Apple Inc. and the design director was Jonathan Ive. It is dated 2010 and we acquired it in 2012. Its medium is aluminum, arsenic-free glass, plastic. It is a part of the Product Design and Decorative Arts department.

The importance of Apple Computer Inc. to computer design and consumer electronics is well established in the history of personal computing and digital technology. Incorporated in 1977 by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, Apple has been a design innovator for operating systems, hardware, and software. The company has always emphasized good design as an integral element of its business philosophy. Its products, including the Macintosh computer (1984), the iPod digital music and media player (2001), and the iPhone smart phone (2007), have changed the way we interact with digital devices and the world around us.
The iPad tablet computer was introduced in 2010. It is a rectangular, flat, slate-like form with a screen made of a resilient, fingerprint- and scratch-resistant glass. Its size and weight falls between a laptop computer and a smart phone. As such, it is a light, mobile form that can act as a platform for audio visual media such as books, periodicals, movies, music, games, mobile software applications (apps), and web content. Its portability is enhanced by a rechargeable battery capable of holding a charge for 10 hours. Environmental concern is also part of Apple’s design sensibility; the iPad is made of recyclable materials such as arsenic-free glass and a mercury-free backlit display.
The sleek all-in-one unit does not require an external keyboard, stylus, or mouse. Like the iPhone and later iPod models, the iPad is controlled by a multi-touch display, requiring only the swipe of a bare finger. Previous tablet computers, commercially available since the late 1990s, required a pressure sensitive stylus. An innovative feature of the display is that it responds to sensors that adjust screen brightness relative to ambient light. Its motion sensors and built-in apps support screen rotation in four orientations, including upside-down. Screen images automatically switch between portrait and landscape mode to accommodate the user’s posture or preference. Due to the intuitive multi-touch display, the iPad only has four physical switches: volume up, volume down, sleep/wake (for saving energy), and a home button. The home button, in the form of a small dimple on one side of the screen, returns the user to the main menu.
The iPad was a tremendous commercial success. By early 2011, over 15 million iPads had been sold, more than all other previous tablet computers combined.
Apple’s innovative products enhance the museum’s industrial design collection. The iPad tablet computer represents significant advances in design that effectively changed consumer expectations, habits, and lifestyle.

It is credited Gift of Roland L. Trope.

iPod Nano Digital Media Player
polished anodized aluminum, arsenic-free glass, molded polycarbonate resin.
Gift of Apple.
2010-34-6

Lock, August Smart Lock
metal, glass, electronic components.
Courtesy of August.
s-e-1663

This object has not been digitized yet.

Game, Monument Valley
video game on tablet (ipad 4th gen or later tk).
Courtesy of ustwo Games.
s-e-1767

Our curators have highlighted 3 objects that are related to this one.

Tablet with built in keyboard. The tablet is placed on a handsfree metal stand. The tablet has six rows in total. On the top row are three long space bars keys and one key with a symbol of a talk bubble icon and a question mark in the middle. On the second row is button that says 'space' and next to it is a long white blank rectangular key. Then there is a key with a person and a talk icon above their head with the words 'Speak' below. The last key on the row is a space key. On the third row below are seven keys with the letters 'a, b, c, d, e, f, g'. On the forth row below are seven keys with the letters 'h, i, j, k, l, m, n'. On the fifth row below are seven keys with the letters 'o, p, q, r, s, t, u'. The last row has seven keys with the letters 'v, w, x, y, z.' The last two keys are of a period and then comma.

Tablet, Tobii Dynavox EyeMobile Plus with Keyboard (Communicator 5 Software),...
tobii is4 eye tracker, infrared glass, eye tracker metal frame.
Lent by Tobii Dynavox.
65.2017.1

Tablet, Indi with Snap Scene, 2017
H x W x D: 9.6 × 6.9 × 1.4 cm (3 3/4 × 2 11/16 × 9/16 in.).
Lent by Tobii Dynavox.
65.2017.3

Game, Device 6
32” samsung me32c plus one brightsign.
Courtesy of Simogo.
s-e-1764

Its dimensions are

L x W x D: 24.3 x 19 x 0.5 cm (9 9/16 x 7 1/2 x 3/16 in.)

Cite this object as

iPad Tablet Computer; Designed by Apple Industrial Design Team (United States); Design Director: Jonathan Ive; Manufactured by Apple Inc. (United States); USA; aluminum, arsenic-free glass, plastic; L x W x D: 24.3 x 19 x 0.5 cm (9 9/16 x 7 1/2 x 3/16 in.); Gift of Roland L. Trope; 2012-21-1

Short URL http://cprhw.tt/o/2EkMg/
Accession Number 2012-21-1
Object ID 18797293