The The original iPod turned 20 since its launch on October 23, 2001. On the occasion of this 20th anniversary, Panic unveiled images of a very special iPod prototype. One so big that inside we basically find a few electronic parts in a big box filled with air.
Lots of empty space that tells us the story behind the product that brought Apple back to life. Just when the company was looking for a way to break with its past.
The iPod that was almost empty inside
The prototype reveals a great void inside. And he does so just two months after his presentation, judging by the date on it, September 3, 2001.
If you look at the components, they come close enough to what we finally saw afters with a different and more compact case.
The firewire connector and the audio jack are at the top. There are a small screen (the same size we would see later), buttons for up, down, left and right. As well as a wheel to move around 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 seems so unusual is to keep it a secret as well. We think they used it software engineers, so they couldn’t know what it would ultimately look like. Panic has unveiled it now, in a true tribute to the original iPod released 20 years ago.
