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When the first iPad launched on 3 April 2010, opinion was split on how popular the product would turn out to be, and whether the tablet market would grow.

Now five years - and 225 million sales - later it might be natural to presume that those who doubted the device have been proved wrong.

But amid falling sales and a new generation of alternative devices, some industry experts have predicted that the iPad's days are numbered.

The first generation iPad was revealed by the late Steve Jobs in early 2010 (pictured), but at the time it was met with ridicule as experts struggled to see how it would prove popular. Five years and 225 million units later, it seems many critics have been proved wrong - for now

When Steve Jobs revealed the original iPad in California in early 2010, it was met with derision by many technology experts, who failed to see how such a product would prove popular.

At the time, blogger MG Siegler from TechCrunch said: 'Is it a must-have? The quick and dirty answer is: for many people, right now, no.

'Unlike the iPhone, which filled an already well-established need, there is no existing need the iPad fills.'

Rhi Morgan at T3 magazine agreed. He said: 'I can't see anybody who needs a laptop buying an iPad, and I can't see people using it as a smartphone either.'

But opinion soon swung back in Apple's favour. 

Within the first 24 hours of Apple's launch the company sold 300,000 units, and to date, nine incarnations of the iPad have gone on sale, with the Air 2 and Mini 3 being the most recent.

The iPad was soon heralded as being the perfect mid-way device between a phone and a laptop.

Considering, at the time in 2010, smartphones were still by and large finding their feet, the iPad filled a gap in the market that many thought simply wasn't there.

The Horn, a technology blog for eCommerce site Gazelle, cited a number of areas that the iPad exceeded in.

In education, the iPad found its place as tablets were preferred to textbooks.

And, according to The Horn, it 'altered (and possibly saved) the publishing industry, forcing magazines and newspapers to create tablet-ready versions for digitally savvy customers.'

While the iPad was by no means the first tablet on the market, it successfully grew the industry to such levels that, today, news readers or presenters are often seen clutching an iPad when talking on the TV, where once they would have used paper.

The latest variant of the iPad, the iPad Air 2, shown here being unveiled by CEO Tim Cook, went on sale on 22 October 2014. In total nine different versions of the iPad have made it to market

Apple's iPad has widely been heralded as kickstarting the tablet industry, creating a huge new market between smartphones and tablets - and seeing many copycat devices in the process

But it seems the tide may be turning for the iPad. 

According to CNN Money, sales for the iPad dropped 18 per cent in the final quarter of 2014 alone.

And this year, it's predicted that sales will fall by five per cent from last year - admittedly still at 60.1 million units - but the lowest level since 2012.

Industry expert Giulio Montemagno, from SVP International, RetailMeNot, says that while tablets might have revolutionised some markets, it risks being lost in a sea of other products.

'This year alone, shoppers are set to spend £6.32 billion [$9.37 billion] using tablet devices in the UK, up from £3.62 billion [$5.36 billion] 2014,' he said.

But he added: 'We are seeing a strong shift from tablets to smartphones as the lines blur between smartphones, phablets, and tablets.'

But all is not well for the iPad. The rise of new devices like the Apple Watch (left) and larger smartphones like the iPhone 6 Plus (right) mean the place for the iPad in today's market is becoming less obvious

With the release of smartphones with larger screens like the iPhone 6 Plus, and other devices like the Apple Watch, many have suggested that the place for the iPad today is becoming less obvious.

But, after all, that is what they said five years ago, as well.

Will we be celebrating the 10 anniversary of the iPad in 2020, though, and looking back on another successful five years?

At the moment, it looks pretty unlikely.