IN January 2010, Steve Jobs introduced what he described as a "truly magical and revolutionary product." Such hyperbole was not unusual from tech companies: but, this being Steve Jobs and Apple - the company behind the Mac, the iPhone and the iPod - it was an assertion that demanded to be taken seriously.

A huge video screen behind Jobs flashed up images of the iPhone and an Apple laptop, separated by a question mark. "The question has arisen lately," he said, "Is there room for a third category of device in the middle?" The new product was, of course, the iPad.

The iPad was just the latest covetable device to be designed by Apple. It allowed users to browse the web, send and receive emails, take and share photographs, watch videos, download games, listen to music and read ebooks - all via a slim, hand-held device with a glass screen. To operate it, you touched or swiped the screen with your fingertips. It really was remarkably easy.

Five years ago yesterday - April 3, 2010 - the iPad went on sale in the States, selling 30,000 units on its first day. In late May, it was the turn of the UK, Europe, Japan, Australia and Canada. Lengthy queues formed outside Apple stores on the days they went on sale.

The updated iPad2 followed. Sales continued to astonish. By 2011, Guinness World Records was hailing it as the fastest-selling consumer electronics device.

"The concept of tablets ­... has existed for decades," Guinness said. "The arrival of Apple¹s iPad, however, proved a landmark release. Following its launch in April 2010, three million units were sold in the first 80 days, and thanks to the release of the iPad 2 on 25 March 2011, 4.69 million units were sold in the second quarter of the year ­or 311,666 per day."

The device has continued to be updated, the most recent version being the iPad Air 2. In Apple terms, consumer and media attention has now switched to the Apple Watch, an eagerly-awaited, iPhone-compatible smartwatch that will be launched later this month.

The sheer novelty of the iPad may have worn off, but users still find it highly convenient and reliable. This article was written on an iPad and sent in by email; the same device also allows me to take photographs, to read newspapers and websites on the train, and to listen to music on the move.

The iPad has now sold more than a quarter of a billion units, and there are more than 725,000 downloadable apps covering everything from education to entertainment. It has even been used to land a small plane after its electrical systems failed.

"Apple's iPad is its fastest-selling product, a runaway success, yet slipping in sales lately," the Macworld website said yesterday. "But we haven't reached peak iPad - part of the problem might be that people love their iPads too much to replace them every couple of iterations. But Apple keeps churning them out, making them better, lighter, faster, and cooler each and every year. The iPad Air 2 is so far beyond the original iPad, it's easy to forget it's only been five years."