Review of the original iPod and the loneliness of Zune

Someone found a 2001 review of the Apple iPod before it was even shipping in quantity to consumers. I remember getting one as a review unit at Forrester. It was a big day. It was interesting to hear the reviewer talk about how convenient the mechanical scroll wheel was and how fast and convenient Firewire downloading was (this was in the days when USB maxed out at 12 Mbps; Firewire's 400 Mbps was a huge differentiator).

In contrast, this week, both the Wall Street Journal and CNET both had articles noting how impossible it is for Microsoft Zune owners to find anyone to "squirt" music to using the WiFi system built into that device. Sadly, that's differentiation that doesn't actually matter. But they can't say we didn't warn them.

Technorati Tags: Apple, iPod, Marketing, Microsoft, Music, Zune