We’re hard pressed to say the iPod family’s fallen on particularly hard times, but being under such excruciating public scrutiny can take its toll on any dynasty; especially in a year like 2005, the family shaken to its core by so many tragic deaths. From the humble beginnings of the iPod that began the legacy so many years back, all the way up to the tragic loss of the iPod mini just yesterday, we felt it might be time to take a visit to the iPod family cemetary on this early autumn afternoon.



A homely child of more meager means than its descendants and the first born in the New World, the iPod had only 5GB of storage to its name—though unprecedented at the time, it was immediately rebuked for its price of $399. It had with it a mere monochrome 160 x 128 LCD, 32MB of RAM and 32MB ROM, but included two things then widely unheard of, a 1.8-inch hard drive, and the mechanical scroll wheel. Alas, the iPod didn’t know how to work with Windows, was FireWire-only at first, and only sold 125,000 units in its first two months. In March of 2002 the iPod went to 10GB, but passed on peacefully in July of 2002.