The iPod in 2003: Year in Review
Two launches on 28 April
On 28 April 2003 Apple introduced the third-generation iPod and the iTunes Music Store. The new iPod came in 10, 15 and 30 GB versions at US$299, US$399 and US$499, holding up to 7,500 songs. A dock connector replaced the FireWire port, and the wheel and buttons were touch-sensitive and backlit, with no moving parts. The 15 and 30 GB models included a dock with audio line-out. New software added AAC playback, On-The-Go playlists and on-device ratings, and Apple rated the battery at more than eight hours. It went on sale on 2 May.
The store, built into iTunes 4, opened to Mac users in the US with more than 200,000 songs from the five major labels at 99 cents each and no subscription. Tracks were 128 kbps AAC files that could be burned to CD without limit for personal use, played on up to three Macs and copied to any number of iPods.
Early milestones
Apple reported more than one million songs sold in the first week and over 110,000 orders for the new iPod. On 23 June the store passed five million downloads and Apple said it would ship its one millionth iPod that week. On 8 September 20 GB (US$399) and 40 GB (US$499) models replaced the 15 and 30 GB versions, the larger holding up to 10,000 songs; by then the store had sold more than ten million songs.
Windows and silhouettes
In October a television spot turned Apple's print campaign into motion, with black silhouettes dancing against bright colours to "Hey Mama" by the Black Eyed Peas. Another version used Jet's "Are You Gonna Be My Girl".
On 16 October Apple released iTunes for Windows 2000 and XP, bringing the store to PC users. Apple said more than 13 million songs had been sold in the first six months and that the catalogue would exceed 400,000 songs by the end of the month. The Windows software was downloaded one million times in three and a half days. By 15 December the store had passed 25 million downloads and was selling nearly 1.5 million songs a week.