Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Happy 17th Birthday to Apple's Original iPod
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
My first Apple product was the iPod (Touch Wheel). I believe I still have it somewhere. Gateway drug to the macbook pro, iphone 3gs, and a few other odds and ends.
I posted the article's quote from Fortune. The entire article is worth a read and will give you more respect for Cook's genius.
http://fortune.com/2008/11/24/apple-the-genius-behind-steve/
Seriously. The iPod really was the gateway to Apple that they hoped it would be. Since my first iPod purchase, I bought five more iPods, just ordered my fourth iPhone, I'm on my second MacBook(Pro), bought my wife a MBP, three iPads, recently got the Apple Watch... I'm an addict now.
Amen. Does anyone know of an app that replicates the UI of the original iPod? (Or at least something close to it.) I loathe the Music app. Just give me my music in a way that's easy to access!
Dave
I also have an old Touch I got as a freebie when I bought a Mac years ago. Like you, I use it to play music exclusively; in my case it is hooked up to a speaker that also has a 30 pin charging dock. It works great like that to fill a room with music..
Cesium is the best replacement I've found. It does function like the old Music app, and does allow you to completely remove iCloud Library purchases. It's only drawbacks are the constraints imposed by Apple for all media players using the iOS Music Library API. Also, Apple hasn't opened it up for CarPlay use, which is a shame, because nowhere is the convoluted interface for downloaded music only more apparent than in Car Play.
Some of the comments crack me up. "Disappointment"
This WAS groundbreaking, but they just didnt know it at the time.
I remember it was announced and wanted one. But I already blew over $300 on a Compaq MP3 player a few months earlier at Circuit City. Tiny primitive device, ran on 2 AA batteries. Came with 1 memory card (SanDisk "Multimedia Card") - - 16MB! So...I had to drop the MP3s to 96kbps if I wanted to fit more than 2, 3 songs on my player.
This MM card is the same size of SD card, the copper connection is different - so it doesn't seem to work on this ancient device. I ended up getting the iPod in 2003, installed a new battery just this past Summer and it works fine.
This WAS groundbreaking, but they just didnt know it at the time.
I remember it was announced and wanted one. But I already blew over $300 on a Compaq MP3 player a few months earlier at Circuit City. Tiny primitive device, ran on 2 AA batteries. Came with 1 memory card (SanDisk "Multimedia Card") - - 16MB! So...I had to drop the MP3s to 96kbps if I wanted to fit more than 2, 3 songs on my player.
This MM card is the same size of SD card, the copper connection is different - so it doesn't seem to work on this ancient device. I ended up getting the iPod in 2003, installed a new battery just this past Summer and it works fine.
Welcome to MacRumors! Your very first post, and you use it to insult a longtime member. Bonus points for doing it with ALL CAPS. Right on!
My kids fall to sleep at night listening to the Chronicles of Narnia (radio theater version) on an iPod Nano 3rd gen. Still works beautifully, and I love the green color!
People on here keep saying that they were always nagging about Apple's introductions, but what I didn't realize it that it was worse. And I mean, way way worse. What a therapeutic read. This forum is absolutely lovely these days compared to back then.
The secret weapon for the original iPod was Firewire.
USB 1 was sloooooow. Every other MP3 player took forever to load songs. With a superior UX and blazing fast (comparatively) speeds, the iPod destroyed all others. As USB2 came along and Apple courted Windows users the iPod was positioned to take over the market.
USB 1 was sloooooow. Every other MP3 player took forever to load songs. With a superior UX and blazing fast (comparatively) speeds, the iPod destroyed all others. As USB2 came along and Apple courted Windows users the iPod was positioned to take over the market.
Why, have your pockets and/or hands shrunken over time?
I sometimes still take my NEC PC-Engine GT out for some quality mobile gaming.
I should’ve actually said that using a device with a spinning drive is less practical than using my iPhone with flash storage. It won’t be impacted by shocks like the old iPods can be. It’s also much faster for me to swipe up and down with my fingers than turn the click wheel.
I must say that it was a pleasure to use back in 2004! I hated Apple back then and this was like a gateway drug. I later bought the 3G in 2008, the iPad 2 and 4S in 2011 and iPad Air & rMBP in 2013. By that point there was no way out! Now, it would be impossible for me to switch to Android and Windows. I run Windows off of an external SSD but would never go back to using it on a primary machine.
Last edited:
Yep! Even USB 2.0 was crap because Firewire 400 had higher sustained speeds. Luckily the legendary Soundblaster 2 ZS I bought for gaming and audio came with a FireWire port. I had that paired with the also legendary Radeon 9700 Pro and 5.1 setup and my friends would always marvel at my gaming rig. I was one of the only people at school that was running HL2 and Doom 3 with silky smooth frame rates and EAX.
While a dedicated sound card is largely unnecessary today except for audiophiles, I must say that it made a HUGE difference. It amplified my Sennheiser HD280 Pros and I wish I had something that could properly drive them right now. My Yamaha receiver can but the cord is just too short to be practical and I have great bookshelf speakers for listening to music.
Still have my black iPod Nano 3G even though it is very scratched after years of heavy use and unfortunately doesn’t work anymore after it broke from a fall (the back separated) at least six years ago. But I also spent so much time listening to music on it and I am so fond of it that I won’t throw it away. It’s just a wonderful device and lured me into Apple with its perfection and beautiful user experience. I wish I could access the songs on it, it’s like a time capsule.
We still have some 4th gen nanos which I didn’t like too much but they are all still running strong and even have respectable battery life after all those years, they are still in use, mostly for travelling or garden work.
We still have some 4th gen nanos which I didn’t like too much but they are all still running strong and even have respectable battery life after all those years, they are still in use, mostly for travelling or garden work.
My first iPod Touch was a gateway into the Apple Ecosystem back when I acquired it in late 2008. Even today, 3 iPods later, I still use my 4th gen iPod touch on a daily basis for music playback. Its pretty battered up with a crooked housing where the top left screen is jutting out of the metal case (somehow without any cracks) and, my home button has been shot for over a year. I'm also due for a new battery soon (which will be fun to replace due to the soldiered connection)
Pretty much the only thing it can do is listen to music due to its hilariously under-powered specs. I still keep it around due to having some DRM locked content and, its my only apple device right now since I have a android phone and, probably will be sticking with that platform for awhile.
If another iPod Touch would come out, I'd definitely buy it because, that's the only way I can imagine myself getting a newer apple device due to going through an Android phase right now. I used to have a iPhone however, the process of switching away from iOS was a pain I do not want to repeat again.
I understand the iPod does not sell well these days (the current one was released unannounced out of the blue back in 2015.) however, its still a great device that deserves some love.
Pretty much the only thing it can do is listen to music due to its hilariously under-powered specs. I still keep it around due to having some DRM locked content and, its my only apple device right now since I have a android phone and, probably will be sticking with that platform for awhile.
If another iPod Touch would come out, I'd definitely buy it because, that's the only way I can imagine myself getting a newer apple device due to going through an Android phase right now. I used to have a iPhone however, the process of switching away from iOS was a pain I do not want to repeat again.
I understand the iPod does not sell well these days (the current one was released unannounced out of the blue back in 2015.) however, its still a great device that deserves some love.
