Third Generation iPod

This is not my picture.

April 28, 2003 Apple unveiled the third generation iPod. They begun shipping May 1. The third version was a major redesign of the iPod. The four buttons around the touch wheel had been moved to a straight line under the screen. They where touch sensitive and backlit. The iPod was also slightly thinner and lighter and had a more rounded enclosure. The prices was adjusted so the 10GB model costed $299, the 15GB model costed $399 and the 30GB model costed $499. The FireWire port on top was removed and replaced by the new “30 pin dock connector” at the bottom. It was also shipped with a dock and a single cable with the new 30-pin dock connector in one end and FireWire 400 at the other end. The iPod was both Mac and PC ready. You also got a soft pouch, a 4-pin to 6-pin FireWire adapter and cover caps in white plastic for the dock connector port in the bottom of the iPod. In June 19 Apple finally released software drivers and a dock connector to USB 2.0 cable. By June 23 Apple sells their millionth iPod since introduction in October 2001.

September 8 2003 Apple release the second revision of the third generation. The two larger models were updated with bigger hard drives. 15GB was replaced with 20GB ($399) and the 30Gb was replaced with 40GB ($499). A dock connector-to-USB 2.0 cable and software for PC was also included in the windows versions of the iPod.

In November the complaints about failing batteries reaches its peak when “iPod’s Dirty Little Secret” video spreads across the internet. Apples solution to the problem is to offer existing users a cheaper battery replacement alternative than the regular one.

In January 6 2004 Apple replace the entry level iPod with the 15GB model and announces the sale of its two millionth iPod less than six months after its one millionth. The retailers drop the price of the remaining 10GB iPods to $249.