My 2G iPod and I celebrate 5 years and counting...

I've been listening to music and podcasts off 'Old Clunky' for 5 years now. My 2nd generation iPod and I first met on my trip to New York City in August 2002. I went to the Soho Apple store, excited about the new mp3 player I was about to purchase. She was Mac only at the time and was able to amaze people when I told them that it could hold 10GB of storage in such a tiny unit. It's kinda funny when you consider today you can get a slightly smaller unit that holds 80GB and plays video.

What I like best about 'Old Clunky' is that she still works, quite well actually. I've heard the many stories of people's iPods dying on them. In fact, my sister's iPod mini's battery died ages ago. Given my limited funds, I don't consider the iPod to be a disposable product and so the thought of having to replace it every 2 to 3 years seems unbelievable to me.

So how did I get so lucky?

Well, part of it might be that Apple changed the type of battery used in the 1st & 2nd generation iPods and the generations that came next. 'Old Clunky' uses a Lithium polymer battery while 3rd generation and beyond iPods use a Lithium ion battery. What's the difference? Well, I'm too lazy to find out, but apparently the Lithium Polymer batteries are a newer technology. So why did Apple make the switch? Probably cost.

Another reason for my iPods resilience might have been the way in which I used it. I was a commuter for most of the past 5 years. My iPod was mostly used in my car, constantly charged with my Griffin PowerPod car charger. 'Old Clunky' was receiving a steady flow of power, at least 5 days a week, while playing my tunes (and later podcasts). So you might ask, 'What happens if you aren't plugged in'? Well, I moved to Toronto in February and have been using my iPod on the subway, unplugged, for the past couple months. My commute time is about 1.5 hours to work and back. I mostly listen to podcasts and since I don't like losing my spot, I leave 'Old Clunky' in a paused mode all day so I can quickly resume playback when I leave work. I can generally go a couple of days before I need to charge again.

The firewire flap might have broken off (the 2G iPods had a regular firewire port), the screen might be a little scuffed, and my crappy, white iPod earbuds stopped working ages ago, but 'Old Clunky' and I are still rockin' out.

She's even still able to amaze people with her design...... they can't believe the iPod used to look like that. I don't mind though. I intend on using her until the battery finally gives out or Apple releases a touch screen iPod (fingers crossed).

Here's some photos