iPod (1st generation)

iPod (1st generation) was Apple's take on the portable music player, announced on the 23rd October in 2001.

Apple advertised that the music player could store up to 1000 CD-quality songs, in a design that weighed less than 200 grams. The iPod could use the Auto-Sync feature of iTunes, which automatically downloaded music onto the device and updated them when plugged into a Mac via the FireWire port.

Apple boasted that it could download 1,000 songs in just 10 minutes with the Apple-designed FireWire port and that it was 30 times faster than other USB MP3 players.

Click wheel

The original iPod introduced Apple's iconic scroll wheel, allowing users to navigate their music libraries with a simple circular motion. It had a mechanical wheel unlike later models, with four surrounding buttons to return to the menu and control music playback.

The device launched in the United States on the 10th of November 2001, launching in the UK a few weeks later at MacExpo London.

Stainless Steel design

The back of the device had a now-iconic silver stainless steel back plating, which was polished to reveal a mirror-like finish. This caused the back of the iPod to be extremely prone to scratches, with surviving iPod units a living example of this flaw.

Sales figures

It is reported in December 2001 that Apple had sold about 125,000 original iPod models worldwide, just over a month after launch.

Highlights

• 1000 songs
• Lightweight
• Mechanical scroll wheel
• Stainless steel finish

Design

The original iPod had a white plastic polycarbonate front and a stainless steel back in silver.

Display

2-inch monochrome LCD screen, with a white LED backlight.

Battery

Up to 10 hours of music playback.

Ports

• 1x 6-pin FireWire 400 (used for charging)
• 1x 3.5mm headphone jack

Chip

32-bit PortalPlayer PP5002.

Storage Options

• 5GB HDD

iPod (1st generation) was not available in any other storage configurations.