Apple’s iPod hit the shelves just in time to be the hottest gift of 2001’s Holiday Season. In those days, Sony’s Discman was still king in the world of portable music. Drawbacks were myriad but we had learned to deal with them before Y2K rolled around. Something better was definitely needed because the mp3 players of the day were…well…crap. They were complete and utter crap. Clunky, not enough storage, prone to failure and generally disliked by most of the millennial generation.
Enter the iPod
The shiny little iPod and its clicky touchwheel began showing up in my friends’ pockets before Christmas that year. Microsoft’s gaming powerhouse, the Xbox also arrived around that time, which is what Ol’ Saint Nick brought me instead. That’s an article for another time though. Anyway, the first time I got my hands on Apple’s device was around January 2002. Emerging from my cave into the sunlight after a Mountain Dew fueled two-week alien slaughterfest, courtesy of Microsoft, I once again sought out human interaction. While skating with my usual crew, I spotted an iPod in the hands of one of the bored girlfriends sitting nearby. I made my way over to her and started asking questions. She told me her 5gb iPod could hold up to a thousand songs and showed off her sizeable playlist. I was instantly a fan of the device.
The iPod Shuffle
Life happens and I ended up not getting an iPod of my very own until years later. In 2005, I became the proud owner of a first generation 512mb iPod Shuffle. Sure, it lacked some of the functionality (and most of the space) of its older siblings, but it suited my minimalist style at the time and I loved it. Tragically, it met an untimely end and I replaced it with an even smaller second generation model with a whole gigabyte of storage in 2007. I still have that iPod to this day, and it still has the playlist I put on it in 2012.
Gen Z’s Digital Detox Movement
Where my generation became increasingly connected with their devices, social media, and other trappings of high-tech modern life, Gen Z appears to have done the opposite. Today’s youth grew up with iPods (and iPads) in their hands and have gotten burned out by constant notifications, messages, emails, etc. A revival of simple times and simpler devices has begun. This so-called “digital detox” has led younger generations to begin buying up refurbished iPods from wherever they can find them. The lack of connectivity and ownership of their song libraries have been the two most common reasons for this iPod renaissance. It’s an easy movement to understand though. Sometimes, you just want to listen to music and not be bothered by everything else.
Retro Redfish Did Some Legwork
We figured if you didn’t already want a vintage iPod before you came here, you probably do now, so we did some checking for you. Retro Redfish aims to be a full-service retro-destination, after all. Here’s our list of sources for vintage Apple devices.
You can also find them in places like eBay, Amazon, Etsy, and probably your local antique or vintage shops. Best of luck on your digital detox journey!
Leave a Reply