The First iPod

Here it is, ladies and gentlemen, for your eyes to see. The first ever iPod. Doesn't it look fat? This is the great, great, great grandfather of all iPods.

The 1st generation iPod was released on the market on October 23rd, 2001 and became an instant hit. Apple called it a revolution in the music industry. Back then hard drive mp3 players were hard to come by, and when Apple introduced the iPod to the masses, it revolutionized how we all listen to music.

This iPod used the FireWire connection to upload songs from the computer, which was considered faster compared to a USB connection. Back then the iPod could only synced to a Mac. It only carried 5 gigabytes of hard disk space to store digital music, capable of storing 1,000 songs. But 5 gig was considered a lot back in the day (Apple released a 10 gigabyte iPod the following year). It was the size of a deck of cards and it only came in white. The screen was entirely monochrome, but so were mobile phones at that time. And no, it couldn't display photos and play videos.

One of the best features of the original iPod was the mechanical scroll wheel. The wheel eventually evolved into a much more convenient click-wheel, which became a signature for all iPods of today (except the Touch and the Shuffle). And yes, it's patented, so you can't find the same interface on any other portable media device, and that's what makes the iPod stand out from the rest.