iPod History

The iPod in 2004: Year in Review

iPod mini

On 6 January 2004, at Macworld Expo in San Francisco, Apple announced the iPod mini: a 4 GB player holding up to 1,000 songs in an anodised aluminium case, offered in silver, gold, pink, blue or green and weighing 3.6 ounces. It introduced the Click Wheel, which combined a touch-sensitive wheel with push buttons, and sold for US$249. US sales began on 20 February after more than 100,000 pre-orders, but demand led Apple to move the international launch from April to 24 July. Also on 6 January, Apple said more than two million iPods had been sold since the iPod's launch.

The iPod in 2004: 6 Jan iPod mini (1st generation); 19 Jul iPod (4th generation); 26 Oct iPod photo. Timeline of the five iPod lines with 2004 highlighted.
What Apple announced in 2004, and where the year sits in the iPod timeline.

A Click Wheel for the full-size iPod

On 19 July Apple released the fourth-generation iPod in 20 GB (US$299) and 40 GB (US$399) versions, holding up to 10,000 songs. It adopted the Click Wheel, added a Shuffle Songs item to the main menu and was rated at up to 12 hours of battery life. In its fiscal fourth quarter, which ended on 25 September, Apple shipped 2,016,000 iPods, a 500 per cent increase on a year earlier.

Colour and U2

On 26 October Apple introduced the iPod Photo in 40 GB (US$499) and 60 GB (US$599) versions. It stored up to 25,000 photos for viewing on its colour screen or on a television, and Apple rated the battery at up to 15 hours of music or five hours of slideshows. The same day brought the iPod U2 Special Edition, a 20 GB black iPod with a red Click Wheel and the band members' engraved signatures, priced at US$349 with US$50 off "The Complete U2". A television advertisement showed the band performing "Vertigo" in Apple's silhouette style.

The store goes international

The iTunes Music Store marked its first anniversary on 28 April with more than 70 million songs sold. It opened in the UK, France and Germany on 15 June at 79p or €0.99 a song, and the 100 millionth download was bought on 11 July. Nine more European countries followed on 26 October and Canada on 2 December, at 99 Canadian cents a song. On 16 December Apple announced 200 million downloads.