The first iPod launched on October 23rd, 2001. It connected to a  computer via FireWire. Looking back from today’s perspective, the first iPod was clunky and heavy… But it was still better, and cooler, than anything on the market. And had the ability to hold 1,000 songs!

It was indicative of the resurgence underway at Apple, as a muscular standard bearer of the new digital century and four years after the return of Steve Jobs.

In 2003, Apple changed music with the launch of the ITunes Music Store. With an initial catalog of only 200,000 songs, sold at 99 cents each, iTunes changed the way people bought music.

In its first week, iTunes sold 1 million songs. By December, that number would top 25 million.

At the same time, the iPod’s storage space blew up to 7,500 songs. Apple would sell 2 million iPods in less than two full years of the product’s launch on the market. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Apple launched the iPod Mini in January 2004. It it only had 4GB of storage built in, but came in 5 colors – and quickly became the “must have” gadget of the year.

In October 2004 Apple launched the iPod Photo, packed with a 220×176 pixelLDC display. The battery was able to power 15 hours of music of 5 hours of “slideshows with music”. Groovy.

By 2004, the iPod had become so ubiquitous, it warranted its own Newsweek cover story (that was still a thing in 2004).

The piece described the runaway success of Apple’s newest generation of products with a pretty succinct tagline. “In just three years Apple’s adorable mini music player has gone from gizmo to life-changing cultural icon.

2004 was a good year for Apple.  Its steady drumbeat of new product launches at MacWorld was among tech’s most hotly anticipated events.

That year, Apple would launch its multi-colored mini in January; iTunes downloads would top 200 million songs; and France, Germany, and the UK would get their first taste of iTunes iLife.

2004 also saw Apple begin its long strange trip into the world of cars, by way of a BMW integration. And its other long strange trip into the world of U2 — with the band’s themed iPod. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Through July, iTunes had sold over 500 million songs; in September the nano would replace the mini (and become the best-selling music player); and in October, the company would launch a new iTunes service for TV and movies, and an iPod that displayed photos, and played videos and music.

That last innovation that arguably set the stage for the company’s announcement two and half years later of a new… “widescreen iPod with touch controls… a revolutionary new mobile phone… and a breakthrough internet communications device.” (Photo by Kim Kulish/Corbis via Getty Images)

Who doesn’t remember their first shuffle?

While the iPod always had a few games (remember Brick?), in September 2006 Apple let you buy additional games via iTunes to add – game like Mini Golf, Pac-Man, and even Texas Hold ‘Em. In some effect these games were the precursor to the ever-popular App Store.

In 2006, more and more brands were jumping on Apple’s iPod bandwagon. Nike introduced the Nike+iPod alongside Apple in May (hello wearable fitness). In September the company began selling feature-length films on iTunes; the nano went polychromatic, and the company had sold 88 million iPods by the end of the year.

It was 2007 that marked the beginning of the end of the iPod’s dominance in tech’s hardware scene.

It was the year that Steve Jobs launched three things: his revolutionary new “widescreen iPod with touch controls… the second: a revolutionary new mobile phone; and the third… a breakthrough internet communications device.”

The launch of that one device, the iPhone, not only reinvented the phone, but marked the decline of one of the most successful hardware products in tech’s history.

Apple had sold 141 million iPods in that six-year run, an impressive feat by any standard. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

With the launch of the iPod touch at the end of 2007, by 2008 it was clear that Apple’s attentions were shifting to its next big revolutionary hardware platform – the iPhone.

Sales on iTunes were humming with deals at most major film studios, the platform had passed Wal-Mart to become the number one music retailer and same-day streaming releases were launched.

The iPhone launched in 3G and 10 million apps were downloaded on the app store in its first weekend.

By 2008 the company had sold 197 million iPods.

Who doesn’t remember this weird looking thing? It was at the height of Apple’s identify crisis. Launched in 2009 this iPod nano it had a click-wheel like a Classic, camera like an iPhone, and for some crazy reason, an FM radio.

15 years since the iPod first launched, Apple has sold one billion iPhones. The device has essentially taken over as Apple’s premier mobile device. But it wouldn’t have happened without the iPod. So thanks, iPod, for giving us a taste of what having a full fledged computer in our pocket would be like.