The year is 1993, when Steve Jobs was no longer at Apple and there were still a few years left before his return. During his absence, Apple created several products with varying degrees of success. For example, the famous Apple Newton or a webcam for Mac Apple sought to create more products to reach more people.
A Reddit user got a gem of Apple history for $5.55. A surprising price since the original sale price was much higher and we should add the “collector effect” that any Apple product with decades of history usually has. We are talking about PowerCDand with that name you can imagine what its purpose was.
Apple PowerCD, a hybrid between a discman and a mini system in 1993
In the mid-90s, the CD was everything: to store files, listen to music… It would take a few more years before the iPod and iTunes arrived. That’s why Apple has decided to launch a standalone CD player for Mac and it would work with any sound source. You could say it was an early disc player, although it was too big and heavy to be carried around by hanging it on the street with a ribbon.
In reality, the PowerCD was a “Philips CDF 100” CD player. Modified, yes, expressly for Apple with its logo and a remote control. It could well look like a mini system if you connected external speakers to it, also sold by Apple, the so-called “Apple Design Powered Speakers”.
PowerCD paired with an Apple Design Powered Speakers II
The complexity of PowerCD is that on its own it was not usable. And even though it was an accessory, it also needed other accessories to work. Whether it was another Mac or external speakers. The price didn’t help either, because they were $499 and with somewhat weak characteristics compared to its competitors.
The PowerCD itself could play music on a Mac or external speakers, but it also supported pictures and videos.
Its reading speed was x1 when the competition was using speeds of x4. Something that our colleague Pedro Aznar had already achieved in 2006. The main advantage is that It did not require external power and operated on battery power.. So if you connected it to a sound system, you would have a turntable, a mini system, or, yes, a HomePod from back in the day.
The PowerCD was only on sale for a few years
Consumers did not seem convinced by the PowerCD concept. Most Macs already had CD drives built-in and by connecting some speakers to the Mac, you could have your own sound station. If you wanted to use it as a portable audio system, you had to bring the PowerPC, batteries and independent speakers. Added to all this was the fact that it was a model similar to a Philips player and that the competition offered similar products at better prices. This is why Two years later, it was no longer for sale..
PowerCD selling price on Ebay
The opposite happened with the PowerCD than with the iPod. And the iPod solved in one fell swoop the need for people to want to listen to music on the street, without having to change CDs and on a device that fits in their pocket. Although the Reddit user found it for $5.55, On Ebay you can find them for between $300 and $4000 depending on the condition.. What you can do for free is take advantage of its PDF instructions and learn in depth how it works.
These products with such limited units and so little known make most Apple enthusiasts happy, even if it sometimes happens that they are sold at flea markets by people who do not know the possible potential value. So he got it for a little more than five dollars.
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