The iPod turns 15 years old this week. First announced on October 23, 2001, the device and later it’s closed link to Apple’s iTunes download store changed the music industry forever. But at first, the iPod was not a hit. Few were willing to throw down $400 for a 5GB music player that could hold 1000 songs.
That changed as the iPod improved and in October 2003, when iTunes launched. By December, music fans had purchased 25 million tracks at 99 cents each. Today, the iPhone has surpassed the iPod for most music consumers, but even it owes its design roots to the mighty iPod.
Watch Steve Job’s iPod announcement:
The first iPod TV commercial: