The iPod is 9! Apple's revolutionary MP3 player celebrated its birthday over the weekend -- ironically, the same weekend the final ever Sony Walkman was produced.
It's not overstating the case to say the iPod revolutionised music, and possibly even opened our minds to the potential of digital technology as a whole. It wasn't the first MP3 player, but the public had yet to get its collective noggin around the new-fangled digital technology. The iPod, crucially, came with iTunes, making digital music easier than falling off a log.
Innovations like the iPod and the digital camera put the power of our computers in our pockets, and arguably did more than any other gadget to make understanding of the Internet, smart phones, and other technological marvels a mainstream thing rather than a geeky niche.
To celebrate the MP3 milestone, let's take a stroll through the history of the iPod. The first iPod had a mechanical scroll wheel and 5GB or 10GB of storage for just under £300. The second generation of the classic player introduced a 20GB model and the touch-sensitive scroll wheel. The third generation brought us the 30-pin dock connector and the fourth was the first with the click wheel. A colour screen appeared on the iPod photo in 2004, and video debuted on the fifth-gen model in 2005. By now, £300 bagged you 60GB of storage.
In 2004, the first spin-off was born: the iPod mini was a colourful 4GB baby player, followed one year later by the chewing gum-sized iPod shuffle. The mini was replaced by the nano in 2005, which has yo-yo-ed between fat and thin ever since and even gained a video camera in its fifth generation.
Apple's music-making skills were instrumental in creating the iPhone in January 2007, and the similar but phone-less iPod touch took a bow late the same year.
Apple refreshed the iPod line-up in September this year. The delights currently offered in the Apple Store include the sixth-gen nano, a clip-on version dominated by iPhone-like icons on its home screen that makes a rather smart watch. The fourth-gen touch draws on the iPhone 4's Retina Display screen, camera, and FaceTime video calling. The fourth shuffle, meanwhile, brings back buttons after the previous version switched to ker-razy headphone controls.
The success of the iPod also made a megastar of Apple chief Steve Jobs, and made Apple the corporate monolith it is today. It's a company that divides opinion like few others, but there's no doubting that the device to which it owes its fortunes is a nifty little bit of kit.
Share your iPod memories in the comments -- which was your first? Which was your favourite? How did you most spectacularly lose, destroy or otherwise banjax yours? Or just bang on about how much you hate Apple, it's all the same to us.
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sinaplenty 26 October, 2010 20:16
It might have been the thing that brought digital music to the masses, but each of the new versions have focused less and less on music. In fact you don't even mention the only reasonably priced ipod with a chance of storing a decent sized music collection (the classic). And if you're happy with 8 or 16 gig of music in your pocket, why not just buy a memory card for your phone?
Mark Anderson 26 October, 2010 22:19
The iPod was OK. I preferred Creative at the time.
However iTunes was a master-stroke. Beyond genius.
Jono70 27 October, 2010 08:33
Spent years resisting Apple and owned several MP3 players in the meantime from the likes of Creative, iAudio etc. Finally succumbed and bought an 80gb in 2007 and still using it. I've had players with better sound quality or more features but the iPod is greater than the sum of its parts and is such a pleasure to use. The iTunes Store is also a pleasure to use after MSN!
EvilJoe39 27 October, 2010 13:14
Of course just like falling off a log, it hurts! I had a sony with the horrible Sonic Stage software before my iPod and even though it was an absolute pain to use I could create an MP3 CD for my car's radio with just a few clicks. iTunes makes it fiendishly difficult. Very easy to buy stuff and once you figure out the whole select a song to play it as part of a playlist and transfer it then it's easy to use.