Filed under: Audio, iPod Family, Other Events, iTunes, Steve Jobs, Apple, Apple History
Happy Sixth Birthday, iPod
Doesn't time fly when you're We may have seen the demise of the FireWire connectivity in the iPod, the inclusion of less extras (such as a dock) with the players, but it seems to have done little to dampen demand for the ubiquitous music player. Who'd have thought that a little white music player, with a name inspired by a phrase from 2001: A Space Odyssey no less, would have powered the digital music revolution, and helped rejuvenate Apple beyond everyone's wildest dreams. It's been a fantastic 6 years for the iPod - but I daresay there's plenty more in the pipeline that will make the next six years just as memorable.
After the break, there's the video from the Special Event where it all began. Happy Birthday, iPod.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Altrus Edwards said 10:39AM on 10-23-2007
Wow, there keynotes were small those days!
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geezer said 10:45AM on 10-23-2007
you know the best thing back then was, when nobody applauded - because everyone in the audience thought "Oh dear, what a waste of time! Who wants another musicplayer, nobody's gonna buy that thing anyway." :)
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jonathan ober said 10:49AM on 10-23-2007
@2 - If I could go back in time I would have stood up on my feet and applauded...and then said "In the Future...you can even clip them to your clothes!"
Wow! Six years...and I've only been on the wagon for about two or so...but that's because I never had a need for music on the go, was always driving and a radio was just fine for me, or infront of the computer a lot where online music served it's purpose. Now I have an 80gb which is barely full and an iPhone, which is full...someday everyone will have an iPod/iPhone of sorts and Zunes will be the doorstops of the future.
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Blunckhouse said 10:50AM on 10-23-2007
No wireless. Less space than a nomad. Lame.
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Brad said 10:57AM on 10-23-2007
Let's try again.
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Kenneth said 11:30AM on 10-23-2007
@1: Apple still host small media events these days.
@2: nobody applauded? Because they were journalists and not the general public.
@4: Let's see who's the lamest here.
My 5 years old iPod is still working with the stock battery. FireWire syncing is much better.
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djanes376 said 11:34AM on 10-23-2007
Someone just broke into my car and stole my 3G ipod...it was still so young :(
Ah well, an excuse to buy a brand new ipod classic....hmm...or maybe a touch...decisions decisions...
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Chris Murphy said 11:40AM on 10-23-2007
And my second Generation iPod is still going strong!
(It's actually playing as I write this comment!)
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Andrew said 11:43AM on 10-23-2007
I remember selling my 6GB Nomad Jukebox on eBay and running to the Apple store to buy one of these first iPods - I think I paid something like $450 with tax for it. I still have it and power it up every once in a while. One of the coolest moments was opening the box for the first time - back then the iPod looked and felt ridiculously small, I was blown away.
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geezer said 11:43AM on 10-23-2007
anyway I never really understood why Apple gave up Firewire, especially when USB (drivers!) still(!!) is so slow on a Mac. Probably they know that most iPod buyers have a PC...what a shame.
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Snap said 11:54AM on 10-23-2007
Who would have thought six years ago that iPod would dominate the market? Many, many people were skeptical and while it did have a somewhat slow start in the very beginning, just look at it now.
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tv said 12:03PM on 10-23-2007
Don't forget the death of the great white iPod!
Remember when it only can in one color? I do, which is why I got my first one in gen. 5 (Black 30GB)..
@Kenneth
It was considered lame at the time compared to the nomad.. until you actually touched it and realized you didn't miss the space and wifi that much.
I couldn't stomach the price then, as I was all about MP3 CDs (portable and in the car).
I quickly realized the err of my ways, but still refused to buy it until a hardwired car adapter was made available (affordable?) that could charge and play thru my stock radio controls.
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Mat Lu said 12:05PM on 10-23-2007
@6: You missed 4's joke. Google that phrase. It's from CmdrTaco on Slashdot when the iPod was released.
Incidentally, the first gen iPod was my first Apple product. I didn't have a Mac, yet (and it was Mac only at first), so I remember taking a bunch of CDs to my school's Mac lab to rip and put on my amazing new music player. Sure enough, OS 10.2 came out shortly thereafter and I went with a Titanium PowerBook to use with my iPod. Haven't looked back since!
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Colin said 12:22PM on 10-23-2007
Man, watching that video on Oct 23 is like watching "A Christmas Story" on Dec 25th. The day wouldn't be complete without it. Happy Birthday iPod!
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Colostomy Bagpiper said 3:02PM on 10-23-2007
I remember when these were announced. I didn't get it. I thought "what the hell are they doing?"
I was all about mp3s, and I liked the idea, but I thought it was a niche gadget, and would only appeal to geeks like myself. I couldn't in my wildest dreams known how insanely popular this would be. I still have the same, unmodified, never repaired constantly used iPod I bought in the summer of 2003.
And I still love it!
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Skoalbandit said 12:33PM on 10-23-2007
When it came out most apple fans were disappointed. They wanted a phone, newton, desktop or laptops. Most thought it was pretty boring.
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TjL said 12:54PM on 10-23-2007
"the inclusion of less extras (such as a dock) with the players"
where by "less" you mean "fewer"
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max Walker said 2:28PM on 10-23-2007
I ordered the iPod Gen 1 on the day it was announced. It cost £365.
If I had purchased Apple shares with that money, the investment would be worth over £ 9,000 . As it is I own a slightly scratched player with a broken headphone socket.
If only I knew then what I know now............
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Jordan Biffle said 2:58PM on 10-23-2007
Man, I wish I could go back to that event and show off the iPod Timeline, they would declare witch on me.
But as for where they are going, I'm somewhat sad, I think that they should have just called the new nano the 6g, and left the nano alone, I think that the original iPod was great looking before they adopted the metal front, that really made me mad. And as for the iPod Touch, why did they choose the same design as the iPhone, and the iPhone is somewhat better looking too.
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Linda said 6:28PM on 10-23-2007
I ordered one the very next day. Since then I have upgraded numerous times: first touch wheel, 4 button iPod, iPod Photo, iPod Video, 1G nano, 2G nano, 1 G shuffle, 2 G shuffle ..... I just got a 160 gig classic in the mail yesterday, partly paid for by my $100 iPhone rebate. My 60 video is still going strong and will go to a new home. My third shuffle, a purple one, is always clipped to my belt. I watched this presentation as it streamed and said .... yes, I believe!
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