#ipod

Twenty-five years ago today, on October 23, 2001, Apple announced a small music player that nobody outside the company had seen coming as an Apple product. It was called the iPod.

Apple had invited reporters to Infinite Loop for what it described as a breakthrough digital device that was not a Mac. Speculation ahead of the event ranged from a music player to a home stereo accessory, according to MacRumors' retrospective. The product turned out to be a pocket-sized player with a 5GB hard drive, which Apple said could hold up to 1,000 songs.

Apple introduced the first iPod on October 23, 2001. It stored 5GB, or about 1,000 songs by Apple's pitch, used a mechanical scroll wheel and connected through FireWire. It cost $399 and worked only with Macs at first.

Sales grew slowly until Apple widened the audience. A second generation worked with Windows, and the iTunes Store, opened in April 2003, offered legally licensed downloads at 99 cents a track. Together, hardware, software and store formed the model Apple would later repeat with other products.

The line then diversified. The iPod mini, a smaller aluminum player, arrived in 2004. The iPod shuffle, a screenless flash player, and the iPod nano followed in 2005.