Apple has discontinued the iPod touch, ending a remarkable two-decade run for the iPod.
On October 23,2001, Steve Jobs announced that Apple was venturing into the field of music and unveiled the very first iPod in a small room. Although the reaction from the crowd was positive, there was a whole lot less fanfare than today’s release events have. “Why music?” Jobs asked in his introduction. “Well, we love music, and it’s always good to do something you love. More importantly, music is a part of everyone’s life. Everyone! Music’s been around forever; it will always be around. This is not a speculative market.” Now,21 years later, Apple has announced that its pocket digital music and media player has reached the end of its life. Apple will continue to sell the iPod touch “while supplies last” and when the last unit is gone, that’ll be the last you’ll ever hear of Apple’s iconic device. So in memorium, let’s take a look at the timeline of the iPod’s colorful life. October: “An iBook is really portable,” Jobs boasted at the iPod unveiling, “but this is ultra-portable!” At 6.5 ounces,2.4 inches wide, four inches tall, and made with barely over ¾-inch thick stainless steel, the first iPod ($399) was designed to be the size of a deck of cards and hold 1,000 songs. Users navigated songs with a mechanical scroll wheel on a monochrome LCD display and had a 5GB hard drive that filled up using a FireWire port. March: Apple released a 10GB version of the iPod for $499, twice as much storage for $100 more than the original 5GB version. July: The second-generation iPod gained a solid-state Touch Wheel and contained double the space. The product was released in both 10GB ($399) and 20GB ($499) models. April: The iPod got a big third-generation makeover in 2003, with the addition of four buttons that glowed red and a new connector, the 30-pin dock connector. Sensing the needs of obsessed music lovers, the company introduced a new 30GB model ($499), along with 10GB ($299) and 15GB ($399) choices. September: The latest third-generation iPod models jumped to 20GB and 40GB, replacing the 15GB and 30GB models, respectively. Windows users got their first taste of the iPod via MusicMatch Jukebox, opening up the iPod to a whole new audience. January: A new version of the iPod called the iPod Mini ($249) debuted at Macworld San Francisco in gold, pink, blue and green models at the beginning of 2004. Made of anodized aluminum and containing a Click Wheel that replaced the four auxiliary buttons, this petite 4GB model is closer in size to a business card than a card deck and is only ½ inch thick. Also in January, a 15GB third-generation iPod was offered for $299, the same price as the previous 10GB model. July: The fourth-generation iPod (20GB for $299 and 40GB for $399) was released with the same Click Wheel as the iPad mini. September: Apple drops 20GB ($299) and 40GB ($499) versions of the fourth-generation iPod branded with the HP logo.
