Yesterday the second anniversary of the official Apple announcement of the iPad.

Image via Wikipedia.

In honor of the event, I thought I would catalog a few of the tech critics’ initial reactions to the device:

Is that it then? A bloody great iPhone? If any newspaper publishers out hoped the iWhatsit would be the missing link between digital investment and reward, the sight of Steve Jobs lazily stroking his big touchscreen while muttering “awesome” and “incredible” and “wonderful” will have come as a blow.

– Matt Kelly, digital content director, Mirror Group

I haven’t been this let down since Snooki hooked up with The Situation

– Daniel Lyons

…, it’s hard to see how the iPad is really the no-brainer upgrade over everything else in the world the way that the iPhone was when it was announced. Yes, I’d rather own an iPad than, say, either the HP slate or the 10-inch Tegra 2- and Android-based tablet prototype that MSI showed at CES. But, at least in the case of the MSI tablet, I’d have to do a little more homework first before making a final decision.

It’s certainly true that with many of the items above, Apple’s implementation will be superior to the competition, and in some cases dramatically so. But there are also places where Apple’s iPad will be inferior, so the end result is that buyers will end up making a tradeoff based on the same kind of “what matters to me” feature grid that I’ve given above. I honestly wasn’t expecting to have to do that.

– Jon Stokes, Deputy Editor, Ars Technica

I have a rather controversial opinion about the iPad itself. Simply put: I think it is the wrong device, at the wrong price, in the right space. At the end of the day, based on early reports I’ve seen/heard (which is limited, I must admit), the device is a big iTouch and a Kindle, all in one. But hold on a second! I already have an iTouch (it happens to be an iPhone), and I can buy a phenomenal eReader from Amazon (and soon, many others) for less than $300. And you still need a phone. So why would I pay $500+ for a device that is primarily different from my phone in that it’s an eReader?

The iPad looks to be a cool personal device that Apple is targeting at a very interesting space: the home. But the home doesn’t need another personal device. The home needs a device for the WHOLE FAMILY to use. The iPad as Apple appears to have positioned it, is not the right device for the whole family to use. It isn’t the device that I think will float around the home, being used by everyone. The home needs a family device that everyone can use. That device is not a big iTouch. It’s something else.

Apple took what I think was the easy road here, and I am betting their results will show it. They took their existing iPhone experience and dropped it on top of what appears to be just a big iTouch. And they built a new eReader application with a new eBook ecosystem. The are reacting to the Kindle phenomenon. But I don’t see this device as revolutionizing how people consume digital applications and content in the home.

– Robbie Cape, CEO and founder, Cozi, Seattle

It’s a big iPod. That much is clear — it’s not really a tablet computer. Of course, the benefits of a giant iPod are manifest: you can check email easily, movies and shows will look nice (though not full HD), and the e-books looked great. But the fact is you’re limited by Apple in every way they can limit you. It’s got all the same fetters as an iPhone and has no expandable storage or USB port. Until you hack it to run Chrome OS, you’re going to be using this thing exactly the way Apple tells you to. It’ll be nice if that’s what you want, but it’s not the universal tablet I was hoping for. Nevertheless, I see every secretary and PA carrying one of these in a month.

– Devin Coldeway, TechCruch

Apple CEO Steve Jobs trotted out on stage in San Francisco today, promising ‘a truly magical and revolutionary’ new product. He didn’t deliver. The Apple iPad, unveiled today, met base-level expectations — it’s a big iPhone. And to Apple’s credit, it’s cheaper than we thought, which will drive adoption. But Steve didn’t show off any must-have features or applications. And after seeing the iPad, we’re not nearly as impressed as we were after Jobs unveiled the iPhone three years ago.

– Dan Frommer, Silicon Alley Insider

A lot of people are psyched about the iPad. Not me! My god, am I underwhelmed by it. It has some absolutely backbreaking failures that will make buying one the last thing I would want to do.

– Adam Frucci, Gizmodo

On the other hand, nothing succeeds like success. Apple sold more than 14.7 million iPads in 2011.

Related articles

• Apple’s iPad turns 2: A look back and ahead (news.cnet.com)
• Apple Sells More Of The iPad Than HP Does PCs (inquisitr.com)