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Happy 24th Anniversary, iPod

MacRumors said:
Some MacRumors readers lined up to buy one on launch day, kicking off a tradition of long lines at Apple Stores that continued well into the iPhone launch days. As with any Apple product launch, there were some mixed reactions to the iPod, and of course a slew of early complaints. Here's what the forums had to say:
There were plenty of MacRumors readers thrilled with the iPod, and as we well know, it was a wildly popular device that spurred several subsequent models and eventually led to the launch of the iPhone.
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Ahh, yes, the infamous MacRumors Thread #500. 🙃 I was already a bit of a late Mac and iPod switcher, having bought a USB 2.0 17’’ iMac G4 in late ’03 and a 20GB 3G iPod in mid ’04, so I already knew the latter was on the verge of becoming a huge success story, but I still loved reading through all those replies and used it as an example whenever anyone was overly negative about an Apple product… And other than about the Vision Pro, the iPhone Air and the mess that is Tahoe, the naysayers usually turn out to be wrong.
 
dan110 said:
I really wish Apple could wake up and realize that this type of music consumption is far more superior than subscription based streaming.
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I don’t stream music. No Spotify, no Apple Music, nothing. I manage my music as I always have—load music from my library on my iMac to my iPod and go from there. I have much of my library already from the past of ripping CDs, music I got through Limewire and iTunes and I still buy music occasionally through iTunes, usually something from years past that I had forgotten or overlooked. I buy practically nothing of contemporary music because for me most music from the past twenty-five years is garbage.

My 7th gen iPod Touch won’t last forever, but I still have my old iPhone 8 which I could use as a glorified iPod albeit it’s bulkier than the iPod Touch.
 
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Big fan of the iPod, especially the Shuffle. Probably my favourite Apple device. I still have several which I use regularly, but battery life is suffering.
 
My long lost 3rd gen iPod Nano in Mint Green. This was my third Apple product, my first being an Indigo G3 iMac and my second being an eMac which I had when I bought the Nano. It felt so hi-tech at the time and so cool.
IMG_1486.jpeg

I loved this thing and I was heartbroken when it died after ten years of faithful use. It just stopped one day between tracks. I thought it was out of juice, but the battery just died. I replaced the battery, but it still wouldn’t play. At the time I still had an app on my 2011 iMac called iRip so I was able to retrieve all the music on it.

I still wish I had it. The only downside (now) is it didn’t have Bluetooth which my iPod Touch has. But a modern version of this with Bluetooth would rock.
 
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The iPod was one of the highlights of Apple. The innovation was incredible. Look at the different versions, several of which were available at the same time. You had a choice at several different price/feature points.

Now look at the iPhone evolution ... no innovation to speak of, especially since the iPhone 6 or so.

Great to celebrate the iPod but what a contrast to the present day Apple.


iPods.jpeg
 
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I think if they were to bring it back there would be some good chance a lot of people would buy it. If nothing else for the nostalgia factor and the idea of having a great collectable.
 
Warped9 said:
My long lost 3rd gen iPod Nano in Mint Green. This was my third Apple product, my first being an Indigo G3 iMac and my second being an eMac which I had when I bought the Nano. It felt so hi-tech at the time and so cool.

I loved this thing and I was heartbroken when it died after ten years of faithful use. It just stopped one day between tracks. I thought it was out of juice, but the battery just died. I replaced the battery, but it still wouldn’t play. At the time I still had an app on my 2011 iMac called iRip so I was able to retrieve all the music on it.

I still wish I had it. The only downside (now) is it didn’t have Bluetooth which my iPod Touch has. But a modern version of this with Bluetooth would rock.
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I still have mine (purchased December 2007) and it works great. Love this thing to bits!
 
parkds said:
For perspective, the only real competitor the iPod had as far as storage in an MP3 player when it was released was the Creative Nomad Jukebox, which was the size of an ugly Diskman and extremely thick. The iPod was unthinkably small for when it was released. View attachment 2578166
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Err, no. The king of that time was the Personal Jukebox Pro. Albeit larger and not shining in industrial design, developed by Compaq it preceded the iPod by some time and had a whopping 5GB harddrive, which was way ahead of any competition by that time.

HanGo_PJB100_Personal_Jukebox.jpg
 
Still have mine, an iPod Classic 5 I bought some time ago on eBay.

It needs a new battery and maybe the change to microsd card. New screen and a clickwheel. It works without all of that but yeah, needs some love.

Awesome product
 
Mity said:
Bring it back as a modern DAP with cellular support, Bluetooth and a 3.5mm jack. I would love to play HiFi tracks without my phone.
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You just described an old iPhone.
Besides, cellular just paves the way for 'apps' and intrusive notifications.

Just get an iPod touch
 
HVDynamo said:
Yup, Just a classic with USB-C, Bluetooth, optional WiFi for syncing, and like 2TB SSD. Leave the UI and interface otherwise alone!
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You can get a modded one with all those features, except wifi. Or you can make one yourself.
 
Woyzeck said:
Err, no. The king of that time was the Personal Jukebox Pro. Albeit larger and not shining in industrial design, developed by Compaq it preceded the iPod by some time and had a whopping 5GB harddrive, which was way ahead of any competition by that time.

HanGo_PJB100_Personal_Jukebox.jpg
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In specs, maybe, but I’ve never seen one. I was in early grad school, or late undergrad, when the iPod was released and I saw plenty of Nomads around campus.
 
Oh I remember my first iPod! It was an iPod with the Firewire port and I think it was 5GB. I went to the public library, borrowed lots of CDs and ripped them to MP3s for my iPod :)
 
I almost wish I still had mine, but what would I do with it? I gave it to some girl I was dating for around a week.
 
Given how younger generations are rediscovering and getting into older technologies, I really think Apple is missing an opportunity for an iPod revival.

I have teenage relatives that are into Vinyl, tapes & CDs and are discovering how "cool" it is/was to have single purpose technology.
 
My BiL worked at the US PTO (in the computer patents area!) when iPods came out.

He thought they would never be successful and bought his kids crappy little mp3 players :D
 
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