10 years of the iPod

Johnny Davis of The Guardian:

The iPod is 10 this year. Developed during spring 2001 and brought to market in just eight months, the circumstances surrounding its launch were hardly auspicious. For a start, it debuted days after 9/11. The press launch promised “the unveiling of a breakthrough device”, the only other information on the invitations from Apple’s Silicon Valley HQ was some small print along the bottom: “Hint: It’s Not a Mac.” The assembled media probably figured that was just as well. Apple’s most recent computer, the G4 Cube, had failed to match the success of its iMac – the candy-coloured, egg-shaped machine that had transformed the desktop computer from functional grey workstation to translucent object of desire. And even its appeal was dwindling.

Great piece on the iPod. I still remember seeing this device for the first time at CompUSA and wanting one immediately. It didn’t actually get one until the fourth-generation model came out in 2004 and have had those white buds in my ears ever since.