The Original iPod turned 20 since its launch on October 23, 2001. On this 20th anniversary, Panic has unveiled images of a very peculiar iPod prototype. One so big that inside we basically find a couple of pieces of electronics in a large air-filled casing.
A lot of empty space that tells us the story behind the product that brought Apple back to life. Right at a time when the company was looking for a place to break with its past.
The iPod that was almost empty inside
The prototype reveals a great void inside. And it does so just two months after its presentation, judging by the date that appears on it of September 3, 2001.
If you look at the components, they get pretty close to what we finally saw afters with a different and more compact housing.
The firewire connector and the audio jack are at the top. There are a tiny screen (the same size that we would see later), buttons for up, down, left and right. As well as a wheel to move through the menu.
It is a perfectly functional unit according to its owner. We could connect it to a Mac with this port and an appropriate version of iTunes to be able to use it.
One of the reasons it looks so uncharacteristic is also to keep it a secret. It is believed that they used it software engineers, so they couldn’t know what it would finally look like. Panic has unveiled it now, in a true tribute to the original iPod that was released 20 years ago.