Filed under: iPod Family, Odds and ends, Apple, Retro Mac
Found Footage: Original iPod promotional video
Who doesn't enjoy walking down memory lane? Picture it: October 23, 2001 Apple changes the world again but no one realizes it. That's the day Apple introduced the first iPod ever, and produced the above video letting people know what the heck an iPod was.
The original iPod had some things I miss on the newer iPods: FireWire support and a physical scroll wheel (oh, how I miss the physical scroll wheel!).
Here's a fun question, how may folks out there had one of the original iPods? You know, before our PC using friends could get in on the party and everyone from the Queen of England to the Pope could be counted amongst iPod users.
[via Chris Pirillo]
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)
Mark said 12:06PM on 10-12-2007
I was a proud ower of the original scrolling wheel iPod!
5gb! - Was amazing!
Sadly it got stolen amongst a load of other stuff whilst on holiday!
Reply
vinnie said 12:09PM on 10-12-2007
HAD one of the originals? I still HAVE one of the originals. The firewire jack is mostly busted (requiring a setup of paperclips & rubber bands to charge), the screen is scratched to blurry & the battery holds a charge for about 5 minutes, but I still have it.
Reply
Steven Herber said 12:10PM on 10-12-2007
I have one. Still use it.
I also have one new in the box.
I miss the physical scroll wheel as well.
Reply
Po said 12:11PM on 10-12-2007
My girlfriend has one, and she got it for free!!
Reply
Dane Omazic said 12:12PM on 10-12-2007
I still have mine, works fine, i was playing with it the other day. I do agree with you i do miss FireWire as well.
Reply
EBone said 12:15PM on 10-12-2007
Still have mine. Keep it in the truck which has an MP3 jack, along with a car power adapter. Have about 1/5th of my library on it.
Reply
frank said 12:16PM on 10-12-2007
I can't say I miss the wheel....this one's all wobbly now, my gen 4 ipod just feels more solid with the touch wheel. I hated the 3rd gen ones though.
Reply
Mike McGregor said 12:18PM on 10-12-2007
at the time they came out i worked at an apple authorised resellers, they distributors were doing a deal, buy 10, get 1 free. Since i was owed some overtime i got one of the free ones litterally a few days after they started shipping.. loved it... then when the 3rd gen ones came out i got myself a 15gb one and gave my beloved 1st gen to a friend who still has it.. its on its last legs but its done wonders!
Reply
august125 said 12:20PM on 10-12-2007
This video is almost prophetic:
"Everyone's gonna want to have one."
"[Our goal was] to design something that could become an icon."
My grandparents were kind enough to buy me one for Christmas when I was in fourth grade! I now have a 60gb video and an iPhone but my 1st gen still works as good as new. The battery hasn't even begun to die yet.
Reply
mr. Obsession said 12:24PM on 10-12-2007
"Miss the wheel?"
* both hands raised *
...off to Ebay to see what one'll cost me...
Reply
Niklas B said 12:27PM on 10-12-2007
I had one. Oh, how I miss it. Sign me up among those missing the wheel!
Reply
yesno said 12:31PM on 10-12-2007
I miss the 3G iPod. 100% touch sensitive.. it may not have worked better, but it damn sure looked better. It was available for PCs, but no iTunes yet at that point.
Reply
Brian said 12:32PM on 10-12-2007
As much as I like Phil Schiller, he was terribly scripted in that video.
Other than that, it's neat to see how excited they all were at the time.
Reply
tony said 12:34PM on 10-12-2007
Yep, mine still works, even after loaning it to my brother for a year after I upgraded. Oh, and after it was rained on once when I left it on the back of my car in a parking lot. It s like a little tank.
Reply
David said 12:39PM on 10-12-2007
Haha... "A super-thin 5GB hard drive!" Pretty funny considering how blocky that original iPod is compared to today's designs.
Reply
CopyChief said 12:40PM on 10-12-2007
I still have one. My son uses it now. It still works perfectly, although I did replace the battery a couple of years ago. I expect it to continue working.
I, too, miss firewire. I can't say I miss the scroll wheel. I have an iPod photo 30GB and in our family we have a couple of first gen nanos, too. The click wheel works fine for me.
What I miss most of all is the SIMPLICITY of the original iPod. It did one thing better than anyone device had ever done: play music. Don't get me wrong, I'm a gadget freak as much as the next guy, maybe more (although most folks on this forum would probably give me a run for my money). But what made the iPod an icon was its groundbreaking approach to to a longtime challenge: finding a good way to carry music.
I found a stash of old equipment -- a cassette walkman, a discman, etc. -- and they look positively decrepit in this day and age. How did we live having to cart around our media and play it on such ungainly equipment!?
Thanks for innovating, Apple!
Reply
matt said 12:40PM on 10-12-2007
I have one still! I had a PC too, thanks to Xplay...does that program still exist?
oh the days of yesterday, I had to buy a firewire cable just to get t he thing to work.
Reply
Tyler said 12:41PM on 10-12-2007
2001? The first IPOD was before 2001 wasn't it? I swear I had mine before the millenium... The original gen one wasn't before 2001?
Reply
Boan Rubalcava said 12:46PM on 10-12-2007
I have one! I use it every day, though it is safely stored in a cabinet hooked up to my home's sound system. Works just like it did the day I took it out of the box. I still have the box. I could package it back and see it exactly how it came to me when it was born.
I loved it and still do. It is like new! Truth be told as much as I love it I'd trade it for an iPod touch or a 160 gigger--even a new nano.
Reply
Nick said 12:47PM on 10-12-2007
I have one, and use it maybe 2-3 times a week. I love my wife's new widescreen Nano, but the physical scrollwheel kicks ass.
Reply