You'd be forgiven for forgetting the iPod's 10th birthday. You might want to make the effort, though, as the iconic media player's days are in all likelihood numbered.
Introduced to the world on October 23, 2001, we were all a little too shell-shocked by 9/11 to pay much attention to Apple's first portable music player. Sure, the company had already sealed its return from near-death with its colourful iMacs, but the first Apple Store had opened only earlier that year, and Apple cultists hadn't yet perfected the art of lining up around the block for days to be the first to snap up Apple's latest gadget.
That first $399 U.S., 5 gigabyte iPod was a relatively expensive, lower-capacity alternative to competing devices already being sold by companies like Archos, Creative Labs and Rio. It was also a Mac-only proposition, as Windows compatibility wouldn't arrive until 2002. The iTunes Music Store that allowed online purchase and distribution went live a year after that.
The iPod turns 10
