

The iPod of 2004 - marcusEting
http://techblog.willshouse.com/2011/03/02/the-ipod-of-2004/

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thought_alarm
Ah, the 3G iPod.

It marked the time I finally stopped using a bunch of perl scripts to manage
my music and started using iTunes; my first MP3 player; my first Apple product
since the mid 80s, and it quickly led to my first iBook, and so, so much more.

Only the iPod touch, another killer device, could get me to eventually give it
up.

I still sync that old iPod with iTunes, still use it in my car for long trips;
in a number of ways the click wheel is still the superior interface for an MP3
player. What an epic little machine.

Edit: Yes, I meant 4G iPod. If I'm going to wax poetic about a device I should
at least get its name right.

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marklubi
Actually, it's the 4G monochrome
(<http://guides.macrumors.com/iPod_%284G_Monochrome%29>) iPod.

The 3G (<http://guides.macrumors.com/iPod_%283G%29>) didn't have the
clickwheel. I've still got a trusty 3G 40 GB in my car tethered to my stereo
and tucked away in my console.

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timr
I still think the 3G had the most futuristic interface (other than a
touchscreen) of any iPod. With its non-mechanical buttons in an all-white,
translucent face, and the red backlighting that only triggered when you
touched it, it's still a pretty amazing bit of design.

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eegilbert
I _loved_ this design. Easy to hold in your hand. Rounded, cute and cuddly.
And, the wheel was such a clever interface choice. By comparison, today's iPod
feels like a waify supermodel to me.

~~~
alanfalcon
I still rely on my iPod Classic as my music player of choice, though I'd
probably want an iPod Touch if I didn't have an iPhone (for the apps).

I agree: this is one phenomenal design.

~~~
jokermatt999
_I still rely on my iPod Classic as my music player of choice, though I'd
probably want an iPod Touch if I didn't have an iPhone (for the apps)._

Somewhat off topic, but I find it odd that I can't get a high capacity phone
to also act as my MP3/media player. It would be nice to only have to carry one
device with all my stuff, but since I have more than 32GB of media, that's
impossible.

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zdw
3 years later (2007) and we get the first iPhone, which still looks relatively
OK to modern eyes.

I'm thinking older iPods will age about the same as 1970's mall designs, with
the extravagant plastic and overblown wall art.

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nchlswu
I love Apple's design. It's absolutely beautiful. But when I look back, their
designs tend to age with the same quality that you mentioned. I take a look at
the Colourful iMacs, PowerBooks and iPods of the past and now they all have
the same "dated" quality to them. I suppose it's like looking at the Jetsons
or other future-predictions from the past, but this "phenomena" is very
interesting

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Splines
There's definitely something psychological about design that I don't
understand. Cars are another example - new cars today somehow _look_ new, and
putting them beside an older model makes the older model look old as well.

I wonder if it's because we're exposed to these designs, and that's why they
look old? (We're familiar with them, we know they're old, therefore they feel
old). It'd be interesting to see two models of something that you're not very
familiar with, and see if the same phenomenon occurs.

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h5n1
Makes you wonder how ridiculous handheld tech will be just 5 years from now.

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gfodor
Maybe it won't be handheld, even, but embedded :)

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georgekv
I think we're likely to have wearable computing before embedded ones. I won't
complain about being wrong though!

~~~
xiaoma
The iPod touch _is_ wearable computing, at least as defined by futurists
predicting such things 15 years ago.

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george_morgan
I never thought about it at the time, but the 3rd gen iPod was one of the last
vestiges of the Classic Mac OS interface.

It's the last device Apple shipped with Monaco as it's default system font.

If I remember correctly, the later iPods used Myriad and then Helvetica.

~~~
ctkrohn
Actually, Chicago is the font on the original iPods:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_(typeface)>

~~~
george_morgan
Ah, my mistake. I did know that. Honest.

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kellysutton
Now I feel old, and I'm only 23.

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protomyth
Imagine how all the Atari 400 / Vic 20 owners are feeling about now. In most
aspects of life, we are still ok aged, but oh how tech has changed.

// although it looks like the Thunderbolt connector will bring back new
version of the Atari 850

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georgieporgie
For what it's worth, older iPods with Firewire have a particular value to
motorcycle tourers. Firewire has a very wide voltage spec, so you can hardwire
your iPod straight to the bike.

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mdg
Does anyone know of a reason why the headphone jack moved from the center to
the left side ?

EDIT: On second thought, the new iPods (iPhones) have the ear piece for the
phone in the middle.

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siglesias
There are three possible reasons I can think of.

1) Probably the most likely, is related to the electronics. Stuff got shuffled
around. This was probably more true in the mini and nano designs, where space
was even more precious. Bigger iPods might have simply been made to match. 2)
Having the headphone jack in the middle might have made it difficult to
determine orientation when the iPod was in a holster. 3) Cynical, but the
location of the jack also made it easy to tell at a glance if the iPod was the
5G video version or not, as a point of visual differentiation.

