Happy Birthday iPod: Full Video of Your Launch
This post was published 3 years 14 days ago and its content may not be valid anymore.Five years ago today, Apple unleashed to the world the iPod. At its launch it was much maligned, but as history has shown this is arguably Apples must successful product.
Matter of fact, the first post ever on UNEASYsilence was a link to a site about how many times analysts have declared the iPod dead. With no sign of sales slowing, the iPod has revolutionized the way the public consumes music.
To honor its birthday – lets crack out the video of its birth. Please enjoy the full length Stevenote (Above- Just hit play), dated October 23, 2001.
so a bit F you to all those critics of digital music player. BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH.
Nice. Thanks for posting that video.
I had gotten me one of those. Good old click wheel. It’s still going strong(ish)! :)
Ok so i liked this, as i have not been a mac user for that long it is nice to see some history ;)
My only wish is that they had stuck with FW for the transfer rather than going to USB as my 5th gen has.
Did he say “crap parents” in the iMovie part?
My first MP3 player was the original 32 MB Diamond Rio. I bought it shortly after it came out in 1998 or so. While it was a fun toy to play with, it was never a serious contender to replace my Walkman. It had a decent battery life, lasting anywhere from 8-12 hours on a single AAA battery. This was very important to me, as I often would listen to music for hours on end while at work, on trips, etc. However, its measly 32 MB built-in memory meant I could only hold 6-8 songs on the thing, and memory cards (SmartMedia, in the case of the Rio) were still uber-expensive at that time. So I was forced to listen to the same 6-8 songs over and over again, which grew tiring VERY quickly.
Then, in 2000, a “revolutionary” new product came out — the Creative Labs Nomad Jukebox. Actually, for its time, it was pretty revolutionaryh. Here was a digital music player that could store up to 6 *gigabytes* of music – almost 1500 songs’ worth, or about 3 days’ worth of music – on a built-in 2.5″ laptop-size hard drive. Finally, I had a device that could hold my entire MP3 library, and no longer would I be forced to repeat the same group of songs over and over again. Later on, I even discovered that I could “hack” the device by installing a larger hard drive in it, and I eventually increased its capacity to 20 GB worth of music, which, at the time, seemed virtually infinite to me. (How on earth could I possibly get more than 20 GB of MP3’s? Little did I know…)
There were only two blemishes on this otherwise rosy picture: size and battery life. The unit was pretty big – about the size of a portable CD player. This was *okay* but certainly not as small as my Rio player (which was about the size of a pack of cigarettes). The Nomad also weighed quite a lot. The real problem, however, was that it had extremely lame battery life. It ran on a set of 4 AA batteries, and using standard alkaline batteries (e.g. Energizer, Duracell, etc.) would only give you about 4 hours of battery life. After purchasing a set of 2100 mAh NiMH rechargable batteries, I was able to get this to about 6 hours. That’s only slightly longer than half a work day. I had to buy two sets of batteries, and keep them both at full charge, or else I would suddenly run out of that boredom-eradicating music that I so craved. But, for the storage capacity, I suppose it was an acceptable trade-off. Even so, I longed for the day when I could have it all: large capacity with large battery life.
Then came that fateful day – October 23, 2001.
I remember I was at work that day. I’d just recently purchased an iBook, my first Mac ever. Prior to that, my Mac experiences were from back in the days of the Mac Plus and II, in the school’s computer lab. But at home, all I could afford was a lowly PC clone. I ended up going PC because, at that time, it was the only way to run my favorite operating system – Linux. I’d become very familiar with Unix-like OS’s during college and really got addicted to the power of the command line. I also learned the Unix programming interfaces as part of my programming classes, and I got really good at writing C code (as well as various other compiled and scripting languages) that took full advantage of the operating system, including networking, interprocess communication, and all that stuff. But I still had a soft spot for Graphical User Interfaces, the Mac’s in particular, because GUI’s are really the best way of getting something done quickly and easily.
I remember thinking, “What if you could combine the ease of use of a GUI, with the underlying power and flexibility of a rock-solid operating system like Unix?” Then I heard about Mac OS X, and my lust for Mac gear was rekindled. Hence my purchase of an iBook. And since that day I have never looked back.
Anyway, back to 10/23/01. I was at work, and I remember hearing some vague talk of some “exciting Apple announcement” from friends, Slashdot, etc. but I wasn’t too excited. By then I had heard of “Apple buyers remorse” syndrome, where you buy a new machine, only to find several days, weeks, or months later that they shafted you and introduced a faster/better version of that machine. So I didn’t pay much attention. Then some other people (who were watching the news) started talking about this “iPod” thing. Some were praising it, while many were dissing it. (Pretty much the same spread of opinions that could be found on the various news sites.) When people started talking about how small the thing was, and how long the battery lasted, I became REALLY interested.
It was everything I could possibly hope for. The capacity (5 GB) was smaller than my Nomad Jukebox, but was adequate for my MP3 collection at the time. The size was perfect – about the size of a deck of cards, and it wasn’t that heavy either. And the battery life! Officially, the figure was (I believe) 12 hours, but anecdotally I remember hearing everything from 14 to over 24 hours depending on usage. This is what REALLY excited me.
Early the next month, in November, I happened to be visiting friends in the bay area and was also attending a Linux conference (of course). This was close to the time that the iPod would be released in retail stores. (It was not immediately available on the day that Steve Jobs announced it) I remember pestering a friend who worked at Apple about the iPod, and I eventually convinced him to bring one over (even though, technically, no one outside of Apple was supposed to be able to get their hands on one until they were in stores the next day). He even let me “borrow” it overnight so I could give it a thorough evaluation. I was seriously impressed. The battery life was beyond my wildest dreams, and the clean, simple user interface was like a breath of fresh air let into a stale and moldy room, compared to the myriad mysterious buttons and controls on both the Rio and the Nomad Jukebox, and the extremely slow CPU on the Nomad (scrolling through a list of songs was akin to torture). I was hooked.
That very next day, the iPods were to go on retail sale for the first time. I remember that the Palo Alto Apple Store, just a few minutes away from where I was staying, was planning a special launch event. I managed to make it there and brave the long lines and enthusiastic crowds, and walked away with a large “iPod-shaped box” (as my Apple friend put it) tucked under my arm.
It may sound corny, but the iPod really did revolutionize the way I listen to music. Now I was not forced to choose from whatever random song I had thrown on the thing; I could choose any combination of my entire MP3 library, and listen to it whenever I wanted. The ability to create and sync playlists to the iPod made it very easy to create custom mixes of music depending on my mood: no matter what my situation I was in, I now had a large selection of music to go along with my mood. (the addition of Smart Playlists in iTunes 3 [?] or so vastly streamlined this process as well). And its small size and long battery life meant I could carry it wherever I wanted; this greatly eased the long bus commutes to where I worked.
Since then, I have owned 5 additional iPods: two 3rd gen iPods (1 x 10 GB, 1 x 15 GB), a 4th gen, 60 GB iPod Photo, a 1 GB iPod shuffle, and I currently own a 4 GB nano (the 1st gen model, without the anodized aluminum) as well as a 5th gen 60 GB iPod with Video. The nano (and shuffle, before I got the nano) was perfect for when I was working around the house/garden or exercising: a sturdy, flash-based (i.e. no moving parts) player that I could use to listen to music, podcasts, or audiobooks while doing chores or whatever; and my 60 GB iPod video comes with me whenever I go to the office, to a client’s office, or on trips.
was that steve ballmer in the audience? :D
Holy Cr*p, that is the longest comment i have ever seen. I’ve written essays for uni that are shorter than that!!
Anyways, the video. Its just amazing. All the way through, going on about how they wanted to create an icon, to be the leaders, and they hit every target, and surpassed them by more than they could imagine.
I love my iPod, the world wouldn’t be right without them.
well done Donald!
Wow, I forgot how ugly the original iPods were! I had the 2nd generation, which looked pretty exactly like the first. That thing is clunky and downright retro now. After the 2 G died (unfortunately soon), I bought a 4G, then a Nano, and then a 5G. Each one has gotten more and more sexy. I wonder if they’ve finally nailed the design? Does anyone need to upgrade anymore now that they’re practically invisible and pretty much the pinnacle of industrial design?
The 3G was the best looking, and best functioning.
Wow — great video. Lots of fun.
And Donald, thanks for the long-and-good comment!
Is this video hosted on a dialup connection???????????? I have been trying to download it for over two hours now, and have less than 15 minutes of video. I am on 7Mbit cable; I tested Youtube and QT videos, as well as a speakeasy speed test to verify it is not my connection. Frustratingl, to say the least.
ARRRRRRGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! I made the mistake of submitting the previous comment, and now my download has started over — no cached video!!! This sucks.
Wow, what an amazing video stroll down memory lane. Jonathan’s prediction came true: the iPod is truly iconic. 20 years from now it will be seen as a seminal moment in digital electronics and a turning point for Apple, or perhaps a vindication of what Apple users have always known.
What is really astounding to me is that after 5 years no one has been able to duplicate it. Unbelievable. So many would be “iPod killers” have come and gone, and still there is nothing that can touch it.
Look at Steve Jobs eyes when he pulls it out of his pocket. He has this intense wizard look on his face. Like he’s conjuring it from some other worldly place. He’s a trip!
Wow…. I feel superior with my 8GB Nano. Too bad I scratched it up, but I made up for it by buying the iPod a invisibleshield :p
*Cough*zuneisgonnadie*cough*.
What?
impatient: Must be your ISP… I’m getting right around 1MBps over Verizon FiOS — also note that this is a 290MB video file…
Ugly my ass! I scowered ebay a few months ago just to get an ORIGINAL ipod. I even saw one that was sealed up for auction (for like $900). I’d totally want to get one, no matter how big it is. I mean IMO the smaller and the thinner, the less it stands out and is kinda dinky. I like how Seal put it in the iPod Introduction: it makes you say “Wow!” Just my 2 cents.
I found it funny that the iPod got such a lukewarm reception, and the faces of some of the journalists there! Some of them look disappointed! :D
Ah, the power of the retrospect-o-spoce
He said “proud parents”, not crap parents.
Thanks for that video ;)
It’s amazing what a cultural icon the iPod has not only become, but has been for practicaly it’s whole 5 year life (has it only been 5 years?). I remember, about 2003(ish) when the 3rd generation iPod was around, you’d see someone on a bus, or on the street with those white earbud, and you couldn’t help but take notice. Earbud envy. I worked all summer long and finaly scraped enough together to get a 20gb 3rd gen. Of course, it was replaced with the 4th generation only about a month later…
The way the iPod has revolutionised the way we look at music, and the way we use it in our everyday life, from having maybe 10-15 songs with you to having 4,000, fully merits the iconic status it has been garnerd. I myself have bought 5 iPods for myself & family, purely because you know nobody will have problems using one, they’re just so damn intuitive! I have been a long time frustrated PC user, and have just yesterday ordered an iMac on the strength of my experience with iPods. Happy 5th birthday iPod, and here’s to many, many more!
nice video
thank’s for that video
so it’s crazy to hear: “ultra thin .. 5 gb’s hd-drive”
today the ipod is thinner and de harddisk or flash-drive is bigger :)
thank you apple ! that was a great idea :)