20 Years Later: My Original Apple iPod Review (Premium)

20 years ago this past weekend, Apple announced the iPod, the first step in an amazing comeback that later included iPhone, iPad, and more. But it wasn’t clear that Apple was really onto anything with the first iPod, which used Firewire for connectivity and only worked with the firm’s Macintosh computers: But later, Apple would open up iPod to Windows computers and USB connectivity, and port iTunes to Windows, giving its MP3 player the userbase and the functionality it needed.

Note: Apple announced the iPod on October 23, 2001. But it didn’t release the device until November 10, 2001. At this time, I was still in Apple’s good graces---or, more likely, the Windows world was still important to the firm---so I was given a review unit, which I was told I could keep. I published my review on December 18 that year.

Here's my original review, with a few notes.

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Apple iPod Review
Released about a month ago, Apple's portable MP3 player—the iPod—features the same design-savvy aesthetics as the company's iBook and PowerBook G4 systems, a generous 5 GB of storage space, and yes, a hefty price. But any initial misgivings about the iPod are immediately forgotten when you pull the device out of its elegant box (even the packaging is impressive) and see it firsthand. And the experience gets better, from the iPod's innovative and intuitive UI to its first-of-a-kind integration with Apple's music-jukebox software and speed-shattering FireWire connection. Frankly, I didn't know how I would react to Apple's over-hyped MP3 player until I used one. Now I would have a hard time parting with it: Consider me converted.

You will be depressed to know that I gave my original iPod to a friend years later, after having upgraded to almost every iPod that Apple released over time. He traded it in with Dell to get a Digital Jukebox, a rival MP3 player. I know.

I did, however, keep the box, which is now on display at TWiT’s headquarters along with a lot of other tech memorabilia. Among my other contributions is the original version of Lotus Symphony for the Mac.

If you review the iPod's specifications, the device doesn't seem too impressive. It has a 5 GB hard disk, but some other hard disk-based players feature much larger capacities. The iPod ships with a FireWire interface, common on Macs, but not so common on PCs; until this device shipped, portable digital-music players always relied on the more common, but suddenly pokey, USB connection. And the iPod isn't Windows compatible, at least not yet, which limits the potential market to about 5 to 10 million modern Mac users. And at $400, it hits the high end of the price range for this type of device. Sounds like a loser, doesn't it?

It isn't. Instead, the iPod is a trendsetting product that Apple's competitors are destined to copy again and again. The iPod is easily the most usable and elegant portable digital-audio player on the market. Here's why.
Design
The iPod looks like a wo...

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