"top 5 facts on global tablet sales : The Story in charts"

data via statista
While Apple’s iPad was  not the first company to launch tablets it was the "Linus Write-Top tablet was launched  in 1987 and became the first consumer tablet .. However the timing of the launch made enormous f difference as it became the first tablet to achieve significant success amongst consumers from its launch.  Within its first year the iPad sold more than 19 million units globally and has generated billion dollar revenue figures for Apple on a quarterly basis,