{"id":8445,"date":"2026-10-09T18:08:31","date_gmt":"2026-10-09T18:08:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=8445"},"modified":"2026-10-09T18:08:31","modified_gmt":"2026-10-09T18:08:31","slug":"im-still-convinced-the-ipod-was-the-perfect-gadget","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=8445","title":{"rendered":"I\u2019m Still Convinced the iPod Was the Perfect Gadget"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p><span class=\"lead-in-text-callout\">I remember the<\/span> birth of the iPod, 25 years ago this month. I was working at Newsweek. It was October 23, little more than a month after the attacks on the twin towers of the World Trade Center, and everybody was focused on the aftermath. I didn\u2019t go to Cupertino for the launch, where <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wired.com\/story\/remembering-steve-jobs-10-years-after-his-death\/\" class=\"text link\">Steve Jobs<\/a> pulled the gadget from his jeans pocket and boasted that it contained a whole music library. Apple couriers hand-delivered the device to me in New York, and Jobs got on the phone with me. \u201ciPod,\u201d he told me, \u201cwill be a landmark product.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\">He was right. By 2004, I was writing a cover story called \u201ciPod Nation,\u201d and later I published a book about the iPod called <em>The Perfect Thing<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\">The death of the iPod wasn\u2019t as memorable. It\u2019s not even clear when it happened. Officially, one might date the time of death as occurring on May 10, 2022, when <a data-offer-url=\"https:\/\/www.apple.com\/newsroom\/2022\/05\/the-music-lives-on\/\" class=\"external-link text link\" data-event-click=\"{&quot;element&quot;:&quot;ExternalLink&quot;,&quot;outgoingURL&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/www.apple.com\/newsroom\/2022\/05\/the-music-lives-on\/&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/www.apple.com\/newsroom\/2022\/05\/the-music-lives-on\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Apple discontinued<\/a> the iPod Touch, the last product to use that name. But I never considered the Touch a real iPod; it was simply an iPhone without cellular connectivity. Maybe the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wired.com\/story\/goodbye-ipod-and-thanks-for-all-the-tunes\/\" class=\"text link\">appropriate death call<\/a> might have been July 27, 2017, when Apple killed the Nano\u2014the last traditional iPod with a screen\u2014and the iPod <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wired.com\/story\/requiem-for-the-ipod-shuffle\/\" class=\"text link\">Shuffle<\/a>, a postage-stamp-sized player that clipped to your shirt. (Apple had quietly discontinued the classic iPod, with a hard drive and click wheel, in 2014.)<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\">All these final dates were an inevitable consequence of what Steve Jobs put in motion on January 11, 2007. That\u2019s when he announced three new products\u2014a phone, an internet device, and \u201cthe best iPod ever,\u201d all integrated into a new thing called the iPhone. From that moment on, the iPod as a separate device was living on borrowed time.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\">Still, for years, Apple sold millions more of the beloved devices before the iPod went silent. But even as we love our smartphones, the iPod scratched an itch that still lingers, and I\u2019m sticking to my claim that the iPod was <a data-offer-url=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Perfect-Thing-Shuffles-Commerce-Coolness\/dp\/0743285239\/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0\" class=\"external-link text link\" data-event-click=\"{&quot;element&quot;:&quot;ExternalLink&quot;,&quot;outgoingURL&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Perfect-Thing-Shuffles-Commerce-Coolness\/dp\/0743285239\/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Perfect-Thing-Shuffles-Commerce-Coolness\/dp\/0743285239\/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-aps-asin=\"0743285239\" data-aps-asc-tag=\"w050b-20\">The Perfect Thing<\/a>. It was a one-function device that superbly executed its function. It made people unconditionally happy. In contrast, our relationships with our iPhones (and Android phones) are more complicated. Yes, the device that superseded the iPod is galaxies more impactful than its predecessor. Financially, of course, it is the engine of a $4 trillion company. I can\u2019t imagine any other contender for the mantle of best product of the century.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\">But I would not call the iPhone perfect. It gobbles our attention, sometimes with toxic social media apps. Countless cars have been totaled because drivers were more interested in its touch screen than what was happening on the other side of the windshield. iPhone doomscrolling can result in depression. Whereas that perky iPod brought nothing but joy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wired.com\/story\/im-still-convinced-the-ipod-was-the-perfect-gadget\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I remember the birth of the iPod, 25 years ago this month. I was working at Newsweek. It was October 23, little more than a month after the attacks on the twin towers of the World Trade Center, and everybody was focused on the aftermath. I didn\u2019t go to Cupertino for the launch, where Steve [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8446,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[345,286,57,1484,322,1485],"class_list":["post-8445","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-gadgets","tag-apple","tag-backchannel-nl","tag-gadgets","tag-ipod","tag-music","tag-steve-jobs"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>I\u2019m Still Convinced the iPod Was the Perfect Gadget - Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Apple\u2019s original music player got many things right. Chief among them: It didn\u2019t connect to the internet.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=8445\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"I\u2019m Still Convinced the iPod Was the Perfect Gadget - Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Apple\u2019s original music player got many things right. Chief among them: It didn\u2019t connect to the internet.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=8445\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-10-09T18:08:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Backchannel-iPod-Anniversary-Business-678384.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"670\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"SILVYBRAND\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"SILVYBRAND\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/?p=8445#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/?p=8445\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"SILVYBRAND\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8bdc6818a5b6ef5b9745e468818e37f3\"},\"headline\":\"I\u2019m Still Convinced the iPod Was the Perfect Gadget\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-10-09T18:08:31+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/?p=8445\"},\"wordCount\":475,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/?p=8445#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/Backchannel-iPod-Anniversary-Business-678384.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Apple\",\"backchannel - nl\",\"Gadgets\",\"ipod\",\"Music\",\"steve jobs\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Gadgets\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/?p=8445#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/?p=8445\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/?p=8445\",\"name\":\"I\u2019m Still Convinced the iPod Was the Perfect Gadget - Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/?p=8445#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/?p=8445#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/Backchannel-iPod-Anniversary-Business-678384.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-10-09T18:08:31+00:00\",\"description\":\"Apple\u2019s original music player got many things right. Chief among them: It didn\u2019t connect to the internet.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/?p=8445#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/?p=8445\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/?p=8445#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/Backchannel-iPod-Anniversary-Business-678384.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/Backchannel-iPod-Anniversary-Business-678384.jpg\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":670},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/?p=8445#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"I\u2019m Still Convinced the iPod Was the Perfect Gadget\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog\",\"description\":\"Your daily dose of lifestyle, fashion, travel, beauty, and inspiration \u2014 living boldly, stylishly, and confidently.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/SILVYBRAND-LOGO.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/SILVYBRAND-LOGO.jpg\",\"width\":1115,\"height\":522,\"caption\":\"Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8bdc6818a5b6ef5b9745e468818e37f3\",\"name\":\"SILVYBRAND\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/e7db54afd7d090e59e1a481fd3e6812d467eb2a3b81e7a3092023acfc59a496b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/e7db54afd7d090e59e1a481fd3e6812d467eb2a3b81e7a3092023acfc59a496b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/e7db54afd7d090e59e1a481fd3e6812d467eb2a3b81e7a3092023acfc59a496b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"SILVYBRAND\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"I\u2019m Still Convinced the iPod Was the Perfect Gadget - Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog","description":"Apple\u2019s original music player got many things right. Chief among them: It didn\u2019t connect to the internet.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=8445","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"I\u2019m Still Convinced the iPod Was the Perfect Gadget - Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog","og_description":"Apple\u2019s original music player got many things right. Chief among them: It didn\u2019t connect to the internet.","og_url":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=8445","og_site_name":"Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog","article_published_time":"2026-10-09T18:08:31+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1280,"height":670,"url":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Backchannel-iPod-Anniversary-Business-678384.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"SILVYBRAND","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"SILVYBRAND","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=8445#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=8445"},"author":{"name":"SILVYBRAND","@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/#\/schema\/person\/8bdc6818a5b6ef5b9745e468818e37f3"},"headline":"I\u2019m Still Convinced the iPod Was the Perfect Gadget","datePublished":"2026-10-09T18:08:31+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=8445"},"wordCount":475,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=8445#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Backchannel-iPod-Anniversary-Business-678384.jpg","keywords":["Apple","backchannel - nl","Gadgets","ipod","Music","steve jobs"],"articleSection":["Gadgets"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=8445#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=8445","url":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=8445","name":"I\u2019m Still Convinced the iPod Was the Perfect Gadget - Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=8445#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=8445#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Backchannel-iPod-Anniversary-Business-678384.jpg","datePublished":"2026-10-09T18:08:31+00:00","description":"Apple\u2019s original music player got many things right. Chief among them: It didn\u2019t connect to the internet.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=8445#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=8445"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=8445#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Backchannel-iPod-Anniversary-Business-678384.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Backchannel-iPod-Anniversary-Business-678384.jpg","width":1280,"height":670},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=8445#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"I\u2019m Still Convinced the iPod Was the Perfect Gadget"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/","name":"Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog","description":"Your daily dose of lifestyle, fashion, travel, beauty, and inspiration \u2014 living boldly, stylishly, and confidently.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/#organization","name":"Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog","url":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/SILVYBRAND-LOGO.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/SILVYBRAND-LOGO.jpg","width":1115,"height":522,"caption":"Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/#\/schema\/person\/8bdc6818a5b6ef5b9745e468818e37f3","name":"SILVYBRAND","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e7db54afd7d090e59e1a481fd3e6812d467eb2a3b81e7a3092023acfc59a496b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e7db54afd7d090e59e1a481fd3e6812d467eb2a3b81e7a3092023acfc59a496b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e7db54afd7d090e59e1a481fd3e6812d467eb2a3b81e7a3092023acfc59a496b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"SILVYBRAND"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/silvybrand.com"],"url":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8445","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8445"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8445\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8446"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8445"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8445"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}