Exactly 14 years ago, the 1st generation iPod was released. His keynote speech introducing the digital music player wasn’t exactly met with applause – instead, it received with eye-rolling and even hostile, first reactions.
Jobs emphasized that it was a groundbreaking music player and the first of its kind. His presentation immortalized the statement:
“1000 songs in your pocket.”
Note that this was unheard of at the time: people still tweaked around CDs and cassette tapes. Today, technology has advanced quickly that you can have a thousand songs on your pocket and still have room for 2,000 more.
Despite the advancements the late Apple CEO introduced, like FireWire and iTunes, forum members of MacRumors back in 2001 weren’t having it. Here’s a roundup of some of the most notable – and amusing – reactions.
#1. iPoop…iCry. I was so hoping for something more. – elitemacor
What he didn’t know that the iPod would lead to something more…
#2. Great just what the world needs, another freaking MP3 player. Go Steve! Where’s the Newton?! – WeezerX80
People back then were skeptical of Apple’s foray into the music industry – it had to clash with established brands creating their own mp3 players. Anyway, Weezer’s prayers with answered with the iPad, which came out nine years later.
#3. Sounds very revolutionary to me. – Pants
We’re sure Pants found it revolutionary after he used the product.
#4. gee! an mp3 player with a HD! how original! kinda reminds me of a JUKEBOX i once knew..
We’re not sure if jukeboxes were armed with FireWire and could download music stuff back then. Oh wait, we’re sure that it couldn’t.
#5. I’d call it the Cube 2.0 as it wont sell, and be killed off in a short time…and it’s not really functional. – elitemacor
Well, it did sell and it didn’t get killed off. It’s still here, but there’s a chance it could be gone in the future, considering that the iPhone and iPad can double as makeshift iPods.
#6. …get over your moping…this is revolutionary…. plus it’s just the beginning – Traveler
It was revolutionary and advanced at its time. And yes, Traveler was right – it bested everything in the market. In comparison, the Rio mp3 players could only hold 64 megabytes, while the iPod could hold five and 10 gigabytes.
#7. The Reality Distortion Field is starting to warp Steve’s mind if he thinks for one second that this thing is gonna take off. – nobody special
It took off. At least he was right about one thing: Job’s view of reality is distorted: he and the people at Apple created products which were quite impossible to manufacture back then.
Overall, their reactions were pretty much acceptable back then. Apple was known more of a computer manufacturer, not a phone, mp3 player, or a software giant – those came a little later. The rest is history: the iPod became one of the best-selling devices of all time. In a bigger scale, it helped craft the creation of more advanced devices, like the iPhone.
On a side note, take a look at how kids – who were born after 2001 – reacted to the 1st-gen iPod. It’s amusing to see kids struggle with the technology we grew up with.
