Home| A History of the Ipod | Current Apple Ipods | Ipod Shuffle | Ipod Mini | Ipod Classic | Ipod Touch

A History of the Ipod

  Date Platform Sizes Connectivity Notes
iPod (1st Gen) November 2001 Mac only 5Gb Firewire only  
iPod (1st Gen upgrade) April 2002 Mac only 10Gb Firewire only  
iPod (2nd Gen) October 2002 Mac & Windows - seperately labelled models 5Gb, 10Gb, 20Gb Firewire only.

The 5Gb model still had a mechanical 'scroll wheel' and not a touch sensitive one.

Windows PC's not supplied with Firewire by standard at this time, so users had to buy seperate expansion cards.

iPod (3rd Gen) April 2003 Mac & Windows - same model 10Gb, 15Gb, 30Gb Firewire AND USB. iPod would not charge using USB connector - only sync to the computer.
iPod (3rd Gen upgrade) October 2003 Mac & Windows 20Gb, 40Gb Firewire and USB. 20Gb replaces the 15Gb model, 40Gb replaces the 30Gb model
iPod (3rd Gen upgrade) January 2004 Mac & windows 15Gb Firewire and USB New 15Gb model replaces the 10Gb model
iPod (4th Gen) July 2004 Mac & Windows 20Gb and 40Gb Firewire and USB Features the 'click wheel' for the first time -where the buttons are under the wheel. Still black and white though with the chunky font.
iPod Photo (4th Gen upgrade) October 2004 Mac & Windows 40Gb and 60Gb Firewire and USB Colour iPods appear for the first time, the font is better too, and you can now store photos.
iPod Photo (U2 edition) October 2004 Mac & Windows 20Gb Firewire and USB Limited edition 'U2' embossed black and red coloured iPod.
iPod Photo (4th Gen upgrade) February 2005 Mac & Windows 30Gb and 60GB Firewire and USB A 30Gb model replaces the 40Gb one, but drastically reduces the price making it more viable. A 20Gb black & white and non-colour model is still available to buy too.
iPod (4th Gen upgrade) June 2005 Mac & Windows 20Gb and 60Gb Firewire and USB All iPods now in colour, no more black and white ones. U2 special edition also released in colour too. 'Photo' branding dropped.
iPod Video (5th Gen) September 2005 Mac & Windows 30Gb and 60Gb USB only* Now available in black as well as the traditional white, video comes the iPod and is USB only. Firewire charges only - will not sync music to your iPod!
iPod (5th Gen upgrade) September 2006 Mac & Windows 30Gb and 80Gb USB only Smaller physically, but bigger in size. Also included updates that you could not get through firmware upgrades.

The iPod Touch

  Date Platform Sizes Connectivity Notes
iPod Touch September 2007 Mac & Windows 8Gb & 16Gb USB only Much hype for this new product!

The iPod mini and iPod Nano

  Date Platform Sizes Connectivity Notes
iPod mini(1st Gen) January 2004 Mac & Windows 4Gb Firewire and USB Had the 'click wheel' before the main iPod did.
iPod mini (1st Gen upgrade) February 2005 Mac & Windows 4Gb, 6Gb Firewire and USB Battery life greatly improved
iPod nano (2nd Gen mini) September 2005 Mac & Windows 4Gb, 6Gb USB only Available in black and white, 'mini' branding now changed to 'nano' and has photo functionality.
iPod nano (3rd Gen) September 2006 Mac & Windows 2Gb, 4Gb, 8Gb USB only Available in 5 colours again, and looking like the original 'mini' (but thinner)
iPod nano (3rd Gen RED edition) October 2006 Mac & Windows 2Gb, 4Gb, 8GB USB only Special RED edition available for limited time

The iPod Shuffle

  Date Platform Sizes Connectivity Notes
iPod Shuffle (1st Gen) January 2005 Mac & Windows 512Mb, 1Gb USB only No screen, 'random' playback function.
iPod Shuffle (2nd Gen) September 2006 Mac & Windows 1Gb USB The cheapest iPod ever, retailing at $79.
iPod Shuffle (2nd Gen) February 2007 Mac & Windows 1Gb USB Now available in five colours

The iPhone

  Date Platform Sizes Connectivity Notes
iPhone (1st Gen) June 2007 Mac & Windows 4Gb & 8Gb USB only Much hype for this new product!

 

The iTunes releases

  Date Platform Notes
iTunes 1.0 January 2001 Mac OS 9 This was pre-iPod! iTunes existed before iPods did
iTunes 2.0 October 2001 Mac OS 9 Features added, now syncs with iPods
iTunes 3.0 July 2002 Mac OS 9 & X Ratings and play counts added
iTunes 4.0 April 2003 Mac OS 9 & X AAC introduced, Music Store online for first times
iTunes 4.1 October 2003 Mac and Windows More Music Store features added
iTunes 4.7 October 2004 Mac and Windows New version to support iPod Photo
iTunes 4.8 May 2005 Mac and Windows Video support added. Mac OS 10.1 dropped
iTunes 4.9 June 2005 Mac and Windows Podcasting added
iTunes 5.0 September 2005 Mac and Windows New refined look
iTunes 6.0 October 2005 Mac and Windows 'Video' added - supports iPod Video
iTunes 7.0 September 2006 Mac and Windows Movies now downloadable in Store. Album Artwork option added. Gapless playback. Games.
iTunes 7.2 May 2007 Mac and Windows Ability to access DRM free music on the iStore
iTunes 7.3 June 2007   Updated to support the launch of the new iPhone

 

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