The Perfect Thing

Surprise: How the iPod Changed the Marketplace

What makes the iPod special? Apple didn't expect it to have such a tremendous impact on the company, the industry or even the world. Apple couldn't have known that the iPod, originally planned as a Mac enhancement, would change the company and its direction. By 2005, four years after its debut, the iPod held 75% of the music player market and iTunes sold more than one billion songs. Apple beamed like a proud parent as the iPod grew, virtually creating, and then controlling, the portable music player market. With its boom, Mac computer sales also jumped and Apple stock soared.

Apple launched the iPod in October 2001, not the best timing after September 11. Apple's iPod team members faced a quandary before the debut: go to work and finish the product, or stay home after the tragedy with their families, which CEO Steve Jobs allowed them to do. They decided to finish the iPod on schedule and, as Jobs said, "bring a little joy to people." Yet, many staffers weren't willing to fly to California to see Jobs, a notorious showman, make the big presentation.

Before There Was iPod, There Was iTunes

German computer scientists...