Remember when the original iPad debuted in the hands of Steve Jobs, and he bold-facedly called it an incredibly thin and light device? Imagine what he'd say if he could see what his 9.7-inch roll-of-the-dice became just five short years later. Behold: the iPad Air. You've come a long way, baby.

Apple tends to slowly evolve their product lines, instead of making sweeping and drastic changes. I have noticed a trend where users skip a generation because it seems the processor is a bit faster, hardware a bit better, but seldom a WOW factor that compels you to drop everything and buy it.

Smaller Bezel; Does not get as Hot as prior models; Noticeable difference in hues; colors and tones being more defined; Lighter and More Portable; Stereo Speakers; Amazing Battery Life

Still Expensive; Video Quality is on par with 3rd generation iPad; Still no way to bulk delete emails; Camera received no major upgrade

That line was prominently displayed to audiences at Apple's June developer conference and the iPad Air event, during a video about the company's values and commitment to design. "If everyone is busy making everything," the video asks, "how can anyone perfect anything?

Amazingly thin and light; Terrific battery life; Excellent performance; Class-leading app selection; Amazingly thin and light; Terrific battery life; Excellent performance; Class-leading app selection

iOS 7 still glitchy in places; Gets expensive fast; Safari icon remains an abomination; iOS 7 still glitchy in places; Gets expensive fast; Safari icon remains an abomination

Apple first introduced the "Air" branding scheme in conjunction with its ultra-slim and portable MacBook line back in 2008. The term was meant to connote a laptop that wasn't just lighter, but also uber thin, and able to achieve epic battery life.

Incredibly lightweight with a super-slim, redesigned form factor; A7 chip, in addition to helping provide an impressive 10-plus hours of battery life, offers superb overall performance whether you're surfing the web or streaming media.

No TouchID, just a regular old home button; Despite upgrading to stereo speakers - audio separation remains poor; 5-megapixel rear-facing shooter could use an update

Apple iPad Air is a 9.7 inch fifth generation tablet featuring latest iOS 7 OS and A7 chip with 64-bit architecture and M7 motion coprocessor. It is available for price tag of $499 for 16GB model.

We have no hesitation in saying that this the best 10-inch iPad Apple has ever made. It feels like a milestone: the first iPad was a game-changer, but it was bulky and slow. The iPad 2 refined the design but didn't radically alter our perception of what an iPad could be.

Excellent design; brilliant screen; battery life is superb; extremely powerful even versus the previous iPad 4; App Store is populated with high-quality games and tools; bundled productivity software; good camera; excellent value for money

There are still improvements that can be made to the camera; or to bring iPhone technology to the iPad; but nothing that hinders this incarnation competitively in any way

For a company that obsesses over making devices thinner and lighter, it must have been torture for Apple to spend nearly three years making a series of iPads that were better than their predecessors, but not smaller. Now it has.

Ten hours of battery life; twice as fast as fourth-generation iPad; light and thin

Still too big for long-term one-handed use; no Touch ID

Look and feel Apple's last 9.7-inch iPad was far too clunky, but the iPad Air is beautifully slim and light enough to comfortably clutch for long periods. It still looks gorgeous too.

Light and slender build; Zippy A7 processor; Sleek new iOS 7; Great battery life

Not cheap; Good ol' iTunes; Still no memory card slot

It's been tempting lately to conclude that Apple doesn't have it anymore, and tablets in particular is where Cupertino does need to silence the prophets of doom and gloom after an iPad 4 that was more like a 3.1 and a mini that should've had a retina display.

9.7" LED-backlit IPS LCD touchscreen, 1536 x 2048 pixels, ~ 264 ppi; scratch-resistant, oleophobic coating, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n connectivity with MIMO dual antennas, LTE connectivity (data only, GPS with A-GPS and GLONASS support (for the Cellular model only, Dual-core A7 64-bit 1.3 GHz Cyclone...

Non expandable memory; Price of storage climbs steeply; and storage is largely overpriced; Tied into iTunes for uploading most of the content; iOS 7 could've made better use of the bigger screen; No standard USB port; No GPS receiver in the Wi-Fi-only version

With its 1-pound weight and slimmed-down design, the iPad Air marks the biggest leap forward for Apple's trend-making slate since the Retina display. It's rightly the standard by which all other tablets will, and should, be judged.

Slim; lightweight design; Super-sharp; bright screen; Long; all-day battery life; Demonstrably improved performance

Battery takes a while to recharge; Speaker placement isn't ideal