Apple iPad announced one year ago today

We couldn't let the day pass without mentioning the iPad and the first anniversary of its announcement. On this day one year ago, the world sat on the edge of their seat waiting for Steve Jobs to confirm the tablet we all knew was coming. Ironically, Engadget scored a picture of the device hours before the announcement, but many people doubted the blurred image was the actual tablet.

Post-announcement responses to the iPad varied. Many people touted the iPad as a revolutionary device while many, including Steve Ballmer, discounted the tablet. Despite the predictions of the naysayers, the iPad has turned into one of the hottest products of 2010. By the end of the year, Apple had sold almost 15 million iPads in a mere 10 months of sales and kicked off a revolution in portable computing.

For those that enjoy taking a walk down memory lane, you can watch the iPad announcement on Apple's YouTube channel. We included the first part of this announcement after break. The lead up to the first mention of the iPad starts about 8 minutes into the clip.