On October 23, 2001, the first Apple iPod was launched and every music-player manufacturer has been trying to play “catch up” ever since. CNET’s News.com has a really nice collection of iPod-related stories, including a fresh retrospective that suggests the only trouble the player faces right now is from the cell-phone industry, and even that’s not much concern since its partnership with Motorola. That’s just sad to me.
I still remember the day my first-generation iPod showed up on my doorstep. A life-long Apple user and music collector I was, in 2001, still relying on a portable CD player for listening to music on the go. There were no Mac-compatible MP3 players worth my money at that time. But then came my 5GB beauty, and though I still have it and it still works (granted it needed a new battery), I’ve bought two more since then as they got lighter, slimmer and larger in capacity. However, I’m still holding out hope that someone, anyone, will create something better so I never ever again have to read another “iPod Killer?” headline.
iPod at 5: The little gadget that could [News.com]