If you don’t use an iPod, you might not understand all the fuss. If you do use an iPod, you probably can’t imagine what it would be like to NOT have all that music in your pocket. But the real, amazing story of the iPod and why its birth was so important, was how it revolutionized information download, revitalized the music industry, and altered the future of handheld devices.
On January 9, 2001, iTunes was launched, followed later that year by the introduction of the iPod on October 23, 2001. In the 10 years since, it’s undergone 5 generation upgrades, and 3 additional variations, each with their own generational changes: the iPod Touch, Nano, and Shuffle and on the whole the iPod has sold more than 300 million units.
Now the iPhone basically contains all our iPod information. To update your iPhone, you have to log on to iTunes. Downloading songs and applications, getting phone software updates, and organization of the smart phone are all done through iTunes. And iTunes would not have achieved its importance without the success of the iPod.
While now my smart phone basically holds all my songs and more, hanging on to my old iPod still feels great, in a strange, nostalgic way, like hanging on to your record albums even though one never really uses the turn table anymore. Just think, it’s easy to feel all that and the iPod is only 10 years old.
So Happy Birthday iPod… You might be small, but you achieved big things in your 10 years and that’s certainly worth recognizing!