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iPod Turns 18: Here's What People Thought in 2001
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I don't think most people actually hate iTunes. Check out the feedback on eliminating it in the MacOS forums. I think the deal with iTunes is that people love to say they hate it, which is not the same thing.
You never bought one, and probably only listened to some low-quality MP3s on it to draw your conclusion. MP3 was 'the' go-to digital format of the day, with a huge market of illegal music sharing. Enter Apple, which brought us AAC (aka MP4) and the iTunes Store, and the rest is history.
Fortunately they stopped making them and opened me up to other alternatives and found that Ive been missing on great quality sound for years.
I have been using the Sony A45 for the past couple of years, and its SOOOO much easier to put music on the unit, just put folders in and done. And before that I started using Fiio products. Both options are fairly priced and sound way better than Apple.
I do wish they made a high capacity 7th though for my language courses.
I stand by my criticisms of the first-generation Apple Watch as a gimmick. My opinion has not changed with the benefit of hindsight.
The newer models are a bit more capable but I still don't see the need to get one, and find myself wanting to skip forward whenever the Watch is being talked about during an Apple keynote.
That struck me as well. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
This kind of reminds me of the last PC I had built 20 years ago. I told the guy when I picked it up that my next computer would be a Mac and he told me not to waste my money because Apple would be out of business in 6 months... oops! 🤣
lol. I still have my iPod. I just can't bring myself to get rid of it. Poor thing just sits in a desk drawer pining for the good old days of Jobsian goodness.
I never owned one, I had a friend you had one and I thought it was a cool device. I just didn't think I would listen to that much music, or that I would want digital copies since I had so many CDs - now I don't even own CDs... I gave most of them away in my last move. Things sure do change fast.
Monday morning quarterbacking, eh? Hindsight is always.
The iPod had low quality D/A sound processor. They had poor noise/signal ratio compared to most MP3 players of the time. I had a cheap, $40 Creative Lab MP3 player that sounded better than my iPod Classic. I used my Classic mainly as an external HD.
Yeah also the same people who say Apple only has 3 or 4 gigs of RAM in the iPhone even though it still runs circles around Androids with double the RAM. Some people just don't get it and never will.
Amen! Shoutouts to all those that stuck with Apple in the dark days ...when it was hip to HATE Apple.
Before I get an influx of comments of "It is still hip to hate apple" No its not, only on here it is. In the everyday world out and about, people love Apple products.
Everything changes, but not moaning and complaining people from this forum.
Today marks the 18th anniversary of Steve Jobs unveiling the original iPod at a small event on Apple's Infinite Loop campus. While the iMac started Apple's renaissance in 1998, it was the launch of the iPod in 2001 that truly set Apple on a path towards becoming the world's most valuable company.
Jobs famously pitched the original iPod as offering "1,000 songs in your pocket." The combination of its 5GB hard drive and 0.75-inch thickness was impressive at the time, with the device also featuring a two-inch screen, up to 10 hours of battery life, a FireWire port, and the first iteration of the iconic click wheel.
"With iPod, Apple has invented a whole new category of digital music player that lets you put your entire music collection in your pocket and listen to it wherever you go," said Jobs in Apple's press release from October 23, 2001. "With iPod, listening to music will never be the same again."
While many people were thrilled about the iPod, others were not so impressed. Here is a sample of some comments from the MacRumors forum thread about the iPod from the day it was announced, with some light editing for clarity:Opinions are similarly split in this Slashdot thread from the day the iPod was announced.
In an October 2001 column for The New York Times, well-known tech writer David Pogue described the iPod as "the most beautiful and cleverly engineered MP3 player ever," suggesting that it would become a smash hit if Apple lowered its price and made it compatible with Windows:In July 2002, Apple did just that, lowering the price of the 5GB iPod to $299 and extending compatibility to Windows. iPod went on to become the best-selling digital music player in history -- at least until smartphones.
More links related to the original iPod:Apple Presents iPod press release
Apple's homepage on October 23, 2001
The New York Times announcement coverage
WIRED announcement coverage
UPenn Computing announcement coverageApple discontinued the iPod classic in September 2014, followed by the iPod nano and iPod shuffle in July 2017. The only model still available for purchase is the iPod touch, which received a minor refresh last May.
Article Link: iPod Turns 18: Here's What People Thought in 2001
My first foray into the Apple ecosystem was the iPod nano.
I was hesitant - it was hard to justify the price over competitors at first, but that Apple tax was justified. Today, after years of use and abuse (dents and multiple drops), it runs flawlessly.
I was hesitant - it was hard to justify the price over competitors at first, but that Apple tax was justified. Today, after years of use and abuse (dents and multiple drops), it runs flawlessly.
That's probably because they only sell the iPod touch now, if they sold the Classic or Nano still it would be different. I see the iPod touch as more of a PDA than a music player, granted it can also play musicSub-niche?Every time a thread gets going about updates in the iPod forum the leading justification/use case is as a non-connected first device to give to kids. Almost no one seems to view it as a standalone MP3 player these days.
Still have my 2nd gen iPod. Still works. In fact, I sometimes use it on the commuter train just to observe the interesting looks. LOL.
It replaced my Sony Walkman and bag full of cassettes. But that's making a comeback apparently.
It replaced my Sony Walkman and bag full of cassettes. But that's making a comeback apparently.
The iMac wasn't a niche product for Apple fans. It was arguably the first Mac in years to be targeted at the masses instead, and this is why it helped bring Apple back from the brink.
The rest of your post I agree with. An iPod was the first Apple product for a lot of us.
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I agree for 97% of consumers that is probably true, and the the 3%, maybe say little less than 12M users, going with base 390M sold, want advanced features. Is it an equaliser? Is it displaying lyrics? Even "advanced" functionality doesn't mean it is a nerdy feature.
I am in that 3% camp. I don't like automatic. I prefer customising things how I see fit. Not some engineer in Cupertino. Even if that engineer is 100% correct, I, the customer, should be able to do things the way I want. Full stop.