Video: Steve introduces the iPod

No doubt the IPods design is excellent. It is a wonderful little piece of tech. No other MP3 player on the market has even come close to its beauty and user-friendliness. Even the ones that blatantly rip it off don't come close *cough* Creative Zen *cough*. Jonathan Ives is a master of his craft and I expect great things out of him and his design team in the future. I know you didnt mean any offense to the 3G Bob but my 3G is the only one I have and I love the little thing. Its scratched to hell and its been through a lot of crap but it still plays my extensive library of music as well as the first day I got it 3 years ago. Someday I'll let it go to Ipod heaven (there is an Ipod heaven you know) but until that day I know it'll be a loyal little player.

Ah, i meant no offense to you 3G users, its in no way a bad design. I know that a considerable number of iPod owners were first introduced to the iPod by the 3G.

Its just that ergonomically the cyclical nature of the original iPods controls were just seemed more refined. also the touchy buttons on the 3G removed some of the visual definition of the face.

Also you might notice that the front bevel on the 5G returns to the design of the 1G (square, not rounded like the 3G and 4G) It helps visually slim the device from the font.

Sorry don't mean to ramble :P just i enjoyed watching the design development of the iPod.

PS, i miss the mini!

my favorite part was when he said how he thought that iPod was going to get the
"recipe" right and be a huge hit

and it's kind of funny that "just 3/4 of an inch" was an awe-inspiring size for a player to hold 1000 songs, when today the nano is just .27 inches. but since then apple has gotten everything right. this was really cool to watch.

Interesting to see how the Apple events have evolved. There's a bit of a differrence between this small auditorium and todays massive conference halls which Apple uses to deliver anouncements...

So much hate for the 3G...I love my 3G ipod. The only thing that was bad was the battery life but I replaced it with a NewerTech one and its great now. I like having the 4 touch buttons up top, so I never slip up and accidentally hit a button. I also love the way the buttons glow a soft red when the backlight is on. It just looks cool in the dark. It is a compact, strong, and reliable product. Sure, the click wheel is nice and all but don't hate on the 3G.

I remember being a bit underwhelmed by the iPod introduction also, but got excited after a few weeks. and bought one a few months later. I also remember salivating over the Diamond Rio 600! *hangs head in shame*

Ive still got my 1G gathering dust which i used exclusively up until i bought a nano! im planning to get a new battery for the 1G, so i can "go retro" when the desire grabs me.

and yeah, the 3G was the iPods worst design.

umijin, that is easy to say in hindsight.

The original iPod was light-years ahead of anything else usability-wise as well as integration with iTunes.

The third generation was one of the worst. Putting the four buttons above the wheel was a big mistake.

Unfortunately, the original iPod sucked. They didn't get it and iTunes right until about the 3rd generation - click wheel be damned.

I wish it ran longer! I would have liked to see Steve demo the UI.

The iPod has been around for a long time now and it still amazes me. I watched that entire video as if it was the first I had ever heard of it... Steve's reality distoration ray is truely powerful. I got excited over a 5 year old product!