Apple’s first iPod reaches its 25th anniversary

Apple unveiled the original iPod on October 23, 2001, launching a portable music player that promised to put 1,000 songs in a pocket. At its 25th anniversary, the device is being remembered both for its role in Apple’s expansion beyond computers and for the mixed reaction to its debut. The first iPod had a 5GB hard drive and cost $399 in the United States. Apple advertised capacity for 1,000 songs. The device used a mechanical scroll wheel and a monochrome display, and offered up to 10 hours of battery life, according to Apple’s anniversary account. The iPod required a Mac running iTunes. Its FireWire connection transferred music and charged the battery, while automatic synchronization copied songs and playlists from a user’s music library. The launch came when portable digital music players were already on the market, but digital music was still developing as a mainstream format. Jason Snell, then an editor at Macworld who attended the launch, recalled that some members of the press were unsure about Apple introducing a product that was not a Mac. He also said the $399 price was considered high. Contemporary reactions varied: comments posted by Apple fans questioned the cost...