The Original iPod Turns 15 Years Old

[Spendlove]

Sony Walkman was my world, CD players were too expensive and had a short battery life. Mini Disc seemed a fad... then along came a chap at work who had won a prize on a TV phone in competition - iPod Touch. That changed EVERYTHING.

I bought it of him, he immediately got the iPhone 3G. Then I was in the iPhone 4 - hooked - and now Apple owns me!

 

[zombierunner]

Stop eating those memberberries

 

[sshambles]

The iPod was definitely my most admired device this century.

I went through the cassette player at high school, bought a disc-man also. Loved those things. Used the cassette player probably more than the disc-man. Eventually switched to a mp3 cd-player which cost a fair amount. The thing was so clunky and file-system heavy it was so difficult to use. The iPod Classic was a thing of beauty. Eventually got my 4th Gen one. Loved that thing to death.

Currently still have 2 of the last gen Classics, one black, one silver, both don't house my entire library. Epic technology.

 

[recoil80]

It didn't just change the way we all listen to music, it changed the entire music industry.

 

[ThunderSkunk]

I still think this is the best iPod configuration they made.

Audio & Video capable
Still has physical buttons for operating w/o looking
Small & light enough to exercise with
Display size maximized for little device
The only Apple portable designed to be viewed in landscape

Too bad they made it with such limited capacity.

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

I thought the iPod would never catch on because you couldn't record onto it.

Minidisc was here to stay.

How wrong I was.

I've still got a Sony minidisc portable player/recorder. I haven't seen a minidisc for sale in years, blank or otherwise... I even have Pink Floyd's Animals on minidisc.
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I still think this is the best iPod configuration they made.

Audio & Video capable
Still has physical buttons for operating w/o looking
Small & light enough to exercise with
Display size maximized for little device
The only Apple portable designed to be viewed in landscape

Too bad they made it with such limited capacity.

And I liked the 'Stick' shuffle. It worked well for skiing and outdoor activities. I'd tuck the thing into my coat, and hed for the slopes. I miss the damn thing. They were small enough to be lost too...
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The members of MacRumors welcomed it with open arms.

Sounds like just yesterday...

 

[oplix]

apple is always on top when there is no competition

 

[jmpmntwnty3]

Ahh, the old trusty iPod -- My VERY FIRST APPLE DEVICE EVER!

I wasn't able to use the "original" iPod because my family didn't own a Mac. We had one of those old Dell Desktops with Windows XP. But as soon as they made it available for Windows, I begged my mom to get me one for Christmas. I didn't get it

So, every year I asked for an iPod for Christmas, and I finally got one in 2006 -- the "iPod with video," which, in my opinion, is probably the best iPod they ever released (it would later be known as the "iPod Classic.") And that is how this "Apple fanboy" got started. Then, the following year, Apple decided they wanted to change the whole game and release the friggin' iPHONE.

Once I started making my own money, I've purchased just about every major Apple product released since then (with the exception of the Apple Watch because I'm waiting until the tech improves).

Still can't believe it's been 15 years. I was 11 years old when the first iPod came out. Time sure has flown since then!

 

[Nefilim]

The iPod shuffle first gen was my first Apple device (then a black classic and a nano first gen) - many more did follow, based on my overall happiness with the iPods. I'm somewhat less excited about the iPhones simply because it's become such a household staple, it's somewhat hard to impress with that type of device these days.

 

[Savor]

My, have we evolved. Steve once talked about putting 1000 songs in our pocket. Fast forward to 2016 with the Seagate Backup Plus Slim 2TB (premium metal edition) I got for $85 at Costco. Forget 1000 songs. I can easily fit over a 1000+ HD movies in my pocket and about 1/5th price of the original iPod. If it had a screen with good battery life and can play any format, I would pay $400+ for something like that if the portable media player had 2TB. The Achilles of iPods other than sealed batteries, no expandable storage, and no drag and drop without iTunes was they were limited to playing a variety of formats.

 

[Nurse Michael]

The Achilles of iPods other than sealed batteries, no expandable storage, and no drag and drop without iTunes was they were limited to playing a variety of formats.

Yes, but the average user never ended up having a bad file that won't play. There are some different types of mp3 and not all would play on every player. Apple has solved this issue by using iTunes as a "filter". This is one of the reasons why the iPod was so successful.

Anyway...a price drop would be nice for the touch :/

 

[Seanm87]

The members of MacRumors welcomed it with open arms.

That literally sums this place up. The same going on with the new MacBooks and how bad they are and no one wants them yet they're selling like hot cakes.