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The Original iPod Turns 15 Years Old
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I thought the same thing - Minidisc was awesome at the time IMO - it was fun for a few years until I got an iPod. I still use several 5.5's with upgraded HD - still great!
I have one in it's box sealed in the Archives.
I hope you had two of them so you could actually enjoy using it.
I'm proud to say I still have mine along with the Bob Marley packaging. I may take it out tonight and charge it. ![]()
iPod was the beginning of my love and hate feeling with iTunes. If Apple ever decides to bring back the old school iPod classic, it probably is another artificial need like smart watches and below tablets which seems to be mainly a dying fad for this decade. i just find it funny how people used to pay $400 for an mp3 player a decade ago but when Sony was charging $600 for a PS3 that cost $800 to manufacture, everyone bashed them.
My iPod was a cool device. Mine was white and had an Agent18 clear case. Just disappointed it only lasted 20 months while my Sony PSP which was bought four months prior still works 11 years later. Just haven't bothered to get a new battery for it. At least battery is removable and had expandable storage. My brother had the same iPod as I did and he gave it to me back in 2014. I was surprised how it still worked being 9 years old. But battery lasted maybe 1-2 hrs so I sold it for $30.
By the time iPhone was released in 2007, flicking through your music was way better than using the scroll wheel and Cover Flow rocked. Although that scroll wheel was quite revolutionary for its time considering how difficult it would be browsing through thousands of songs in the early 2000's. I don't really miss the Apple iPod or even Sony Walkman for that matter but I do appreciate their influence to portable music.
Rather have a smartphone and laptop though. Covers most of my media consumption needs with just those two devices. An iPod is just an added accessory but not quite a necessity. It was more of a necessity when we lived in the 2000's when smartphones wasn't mainstream yet and our laptops were still our main source to be connected online.
My iPod was a cool device. Mine was white and had an Agent18 clear case. Just disappointed it only lasted 20 months while my Sony PSP which was bought four months prior still works 11 years later. Just haven't bothered to get a new battery for it. At least battery is removable and had expandable storage. My brother had the same iPod as I did and he gave it to me back in 2014. I was surprised how it still worked being 9 years old. But battery lasted maybe 1-2 hrs so I sold it for $30.
By the time iPhone was released in 2007, flicking through your music was way better than using the scroll wheel and Cover Flow rocked. Although that scroll wheel was quite revolutionary for its time considering how difficult it would be browsing through thousands of songs in the early 2000's. I don't really miss the Apple iPod or even Sony Walkman for that matter but I do appreciate their influence to portable music.
Rather have a smartphone and laptop though. Covers most of my media consumption needs with just those two devices. An iPod is just an added accessory but not quite a necessity. It was more of a necessity when we lived in the 2000's when smartphones wasn't mainstream yet and our laptops were still our main source to be connected online.
The members of MacRumors welcomed it with open arms.
The quotes are pretty hilarious. Looks like Steve knows something we didn't. That product redefined Apple and set them up as a consumer tech company and probably made the iPhone possible. Wow.
I still have mine. It is a Gen 1 but with the touch pad and 20gb hard drive. I take it out every once and a while. Miss these days of Apple.
This makes me so sad. I bought one of these original iPods shortly after release - it was the coolest thing. But back in 2007, after I got an iPod touch, I gave my original iPod away to a girl I was dating . We broke up a few months after that
I could kick myself, now!
. We broke up a few months after that I could kick myself, now!
It is indeed a very foreshadowing conclusion! I think I had a similar reaction at the time, to me it was obvious that the iPod would evolve to become something beyond a music player. Music was the "Trojan Horse" that enabled Apple to enter the consumer electronic and pocket computer market.
Note that the same article also reveals that PC support was already planned "at some point in the future". So while it did first ship with Mac support only, it's not like Apple/Jobs was completely closed to the idea of adding PC support.
Wasn't first of its kind to market—rather first of its kind to perfect the user experience. And with iTunes integration...was awesome.
That was what, 2001? Why do those videos look like they were recorded on VHS?
Man, I loved that first iPod-- and the ones that came after it. When it first came out I was among those who thought it was too expensive for what it was but then found myself having to travel a bit and decided to treat myself. That thing was pure joy.
I still don't think the iPhone has managed to capture the elegance of the scroll wheel and the Artist->Album->Song interface.
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Man, I loved that first iPod-- and the ones that came after it. When it first came out I was among those who thought it was too expensive for what it was but then found myself having to travel a bit and decided to treat myself. That thing was pure joy.
I still don't think the iPhone has managed to capture the elegance of the scroll wheel and the Artist->Album->Song interface.
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Wow, 6 whole pages of comments!The members of MacRumors welcomed it with open arms.
MacRumors was a lot smaller place back then. There were only around 2500 members when it was posted, there have now been over a million registrations on the site.
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I remember asking to an old pen-pal of mine to bring me one of those from USA. I've continued to buy and use almost every model since. Present iPod 6 won't reach the quality standard desired, so I've just modded a 7 (6.5) gen classic with all original components except a 2000 mAh battery and 4x128 SD Cards in it. All of my CD's ripped in ALAC are on it.
I would like Apple to dedicate some love to all of the old-fashioned supporters and leave to the market something like this
I would like Apple to dedicate some love to all of the old-fashioned supporters and leave to the market something like this
How about this one
"All that hype for an MP3 player? Break-thru digital device? The Reality Distiortion Field is starting to warp Steve's mind if he thinks for one second that this thing is gonna take off."
I remember getting a FireWire card for my PC and running some really janky software to load MP3s onto it.
It was late 2001 and I had been working as a contractor on Apple's main campus in Cupertino (IL5) since April. The iPod had already been released. I'm having lunch at a table in Macs Cafe (Apple's cafeteria) with a coworker and seated at the table next to us (~ 2 arm-lengths away) is Steve Jobs & Jonny Ives. It was not uncommon for them to dine in the same surroundings as anyone else on campus.
From my peripheral vision & hearing I could tell that Steve & Jonny were engaged in something more intense than casual lunch conversation. Then Steve scoots his chair away from the table with one hand stretched out towards us, and the other still partially covering a paper napkin on the table. I guess inspiration had hit either him or Jonny and they wanted to write or sketch the idea on the proverbial cocktail napkin (in this case, a dinner-sized napkin).
Speaking in a somewhat hurried tone, Steve asks "have either of you got a pen"?
Remembering Steve's recent dismissive comments to the press about PDA usage in the lead-up to the iPod's release, I wanted to reply with: "No… but a PDA sure would come in handy about now, wouldn't it?"… instead I simply said, "No, I'm sorry I don't". Between making a valid point and keeping my gig… I chose the latter.
In the recessionary period of 2001 Apple was "holding steady" while the computer industry as a whole was not doing that great. Still Apple offered the $499 5GB iPod to employees for "half price". Contrast that with the original iPhone's release in the summer of 2007 when Apple gave a FREE iPhone to every employee in the entire company.
From my peripheral vision & hearing I could tell that Steve & Jonny were engaged in something more intense than casual lunch conversation. Then Steve scoots his chair away from the table with one hand stretched out towards us, and the other still partially covering a paper napkin on the table. I guess inspiration had hit either him or Jonny and they wanted to write or sketch the idea on the proverbial cocktail napkin (in this case, a dinner-sized napkin).
Speaking in a somewhat hurried tone, Steve asks "have either of you got a pen"?
Remembering Steve's recent dismissive comments to the press about PDA usage in the lead-up to the iPod's release, I wanted to reply with: "No… but a PDA sure would come in handy about now, wouldn't it?"… instead I simply said, "No, I'm sorry I don't". Between making a valid point and keeping my gig… I chose the latter.
In the recessionary period of 2001 Apple was "holding steady" while the computer industry as a whole was not doing that great. Still Apple offered the $499 5GB iPod to employees for "half price". Contrast that with the original iPhone's release in the summer of 2007 when Apple gave a FREE iPhone to every employee in the entire company.
I guess I am a little negative towards because iPod classic lacked FM radio and the more expensive bigger models lacked an EXTERNAL SPEAKER! While ths cheaper iPod nanos did get them and a camera. I sometimes hated listening to just my songs and with only headphones. I had to use PSP to play my songs externally and it was soft.
It also started the trend that influenced smartphone industry with sealed batteries and no expandable storage. And what's with the mirror finish, scratch prone rears? This is why I am not sitting and reminiscing about it fondly like some here since its legacy is not something I was always happy about.
But if I could reminisce the good parts and avoid sounding like a Debbie Downer...
+ Great marketing see below. The silhouette ads especially the one with U2's "Vertigo" basically made me buy their album.
+ My start for greater design in gadgets since I rarely cared before it. Well, PSP helped with it too a few months prior.
+ Made me appreciate great packaging.
+ My iPod video got me into watching LOST because I bought the Pilot episode to check out the video playback. Subscribed to their weekly podcasts soon after and bought a few more LOST episodes after that.
+ I used it when I traveled to Europe twice in 2005 and 2006. In most of my photos, I can be seen with those white headphones on. Even a female friend on MySpace commented about that. I loved hearing Radiohead and Oasis songs while in a cafe in London.
+ iPod was basically my main companion when I used to do data entry for a few months. Shuffling would shorten the battery. The best I got was about 12h w/o shuffle and 8h with it. Screen brightness had to be at lowest setting. SOT was awful on the 5G. It only improved slightly on the 5.5G.
+ While battery life left alot to be desired, it was my favorite device to use when I had it (Oct 2005-June 2007). Helped that it was alot more compact than carrying around a PSP.
I thought about getting a space gray iPhone SE just to use as an iPod. Closest smartphone to my iPod size but just taller. Last iPhone to offer headphone jack. While iPod wasn't my favorite gadget ever, I had some good times with mine.
It also started the trend that influenced smartphone industry with sealed batteries and no expandable storage. And what's with the mirror finish, scratch prone rears? This is why I am not sitting and reminiscing about it fondly like some here since its legacy is not something I was always happy about.
But if I could reminisce the good parts and avoid sounding like a Debbie Downer...
+ Great marketing see below. The silhouette ads especially the one with U2's "Vertigo" basically made me buy their album.
+ My start for greater design in gadgets since I rarely cared before it. Well, PSP helped with it too a few months prior.
+ Made me appreciate great packaging.
+ My iPod video got me into watching LOST because I bought the Pilot episode to check out the video playback. Subscribed to their weekly podcasts soon after and bought a few more LOST episodes after that.
+ I used it when I traveled to Europe twice in 2005 and 2006. In most of my photos, I can be seen with those white headphones on. Even a female friend on MySpace commented about that. I loved hearing Radiohead and Oasis songs while in a cafe in London.
+ iPod was basically my main companion when I used to do data entry for a few months. Shuffling would shorten the battery. The best I got was about 12h w/o shuffle and 8h with it. Screen brightness had to be at lowest setting. SOT was awful on the 5G. It only improved slightly on the 5.5G.
+ While battery life left alot to be desired, it was my favorite device to use when I had it (Oct 2005-June 2007). Helped that it was alot more compact than carrying around a PSP.
I thought about getting a space gray iPhone SE just to use as an iPod. Closest smartphone to my iPod size but just taller. Last iPhone to offer headphone jack. While iPod wasn't my favorite gadget ever, I had some good times with mine.
I was anti-apple for the longest time (not sure why). My first mp3 player was a Creative Micro-zen (2006) that I bought for first year university. The hard drive died in 3 weeks I think.
Returned it and bought an iPod Nano because it was on sale...and have been an Apple guy ever since lol. Loved the iPod.
Returned it and bought an iPod Nano because it was on sale...and have been an Apple guy ever since lol. Loved the iPod.
Just goes to show there have always been a bunch of whiners on MR... and time always seems to prove them wrong.
Hahahaha the 6th post down by "Pants" could be any post from this forum today, thats hilarious. Technology changes, MacRumors posters don't.
Not really - with Tarkan's dual-SDXC mod, you can kit out your iPod Classic to hold 1TB