Ten years of the iPod
by ZDNet Author | October 20, 2011 5:00pm PDT | Image 1 of 15
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October 2001 - 5GB, $399
A 5GB hard drive. Ten hours of battery life. A 160x128 pixel LED-backlit black and white screen. Twenty minutes of anti-skip protection. Back when Apple first debuted the iPod on October 23, 2001, those specs seemed pretty good, although $399 was pricy indeed compared to the Nomad and other MP3 jukeboxes. Also, this new iPod only worked with FireWire, and needed a Mac to pair with its software program, iTunes. I bought one because I thought carrying 1,000 songs in my pocket was exciting, at least more so than lugging my portable CD player around. If you were bored, spinning the physical scroll wheel around never ceased to be hypnotizing. It's a shame that giant FireWire port sat exposed on the top, though.
A 5GB hard drive. Ten hours of battery life. A 160x128 pixel LED-backlit black and white screen. Twenty minutes of anti-skip protection. Back when Apple first debuted the iPod on October 23, 2001, those specs seemed pretty good, although $399 was pricy indeed compared to the Nomad and other MP3 jukeboxes. Also, this new iPod only worked with FireWire, and needed a Mac to pair with its software program, iTunes. I bought one because I thought carrying 1,000 songs in my pocket was exciting, at least more so than lugging my portable CD player around. If you were bored, spinning the physical scroll wheel around never ceased to be hypnotizing. It's a shame that giant FireWire port sat exposed on the top, though.
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Hi...ten years...seems like yesterday...I had brought an Ipod mini, pink, 6GB HD, for my wife...it was sucess....it is alive yet...long life iPod.
I'd avoided having an iPod for many years but the idea of having all my photos and my music collection on a pocketable device appealed and I finally succumbed to the 2011 iPod touch. I was pleasantly surprised to find it has its own speaker, albeit a very 'tinny' one and the screen quality is superb. One major complaint is the shape. It's near impossible to use the edge mounted volume buttons single handed - it should have sides that are perpendicular to the front and back, not the slippery, jumps-out-of-your-hand smooth curvy sides that it has. Also I find the double-click on the screen doesn't always work but it's rarely a major problem, just a niggle. I'm seriously considering getting an iPhone5 when it comes out, despite the fact that I seriously dislike the lack of expandability (no memory card slot) and the non-replaceable battery. The only option for the latter is to have an external battery connected up and taped to the iPod which does make the whole thing look very clunky and Heath-Robinson. Will Apple change its corporate mind on either of these two negative features? Only time will tell.
64G isn't big enough, as well as iCloud? Surf for 6 hours using G3 not enough with 200 hours standby too laking? Taping a battery to the outside? HaHa! Try adding a mountable battery pack. Look on the Apple site man.
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