When Mr. Jobs ended the speculation and revealed the iPod at a press conference, some of those in attendance were disappointed initially. "Sure, it stores a ton of music, offers loads of battery life, transfers files in an instant, and is easy to use (and easy on the eyes). But after all the hype, you've called us here to show off an MP3 player? And you want how much for it!? You must be joking!"

Then Apple did a very smart thing. At the end of the event, each person in attendance was handed an iPod of his or her very own.

Cynics among us might suggest that Apple attempted to curry favor and lessen the shock of the first iPod's US$399 price tag by offering members of the press free swag. Far from it. The folks at Apple understood that to truly appreciate the iPod, you had to hold it in your hand, admire its sleek design, swiftly wheel through its menus, and absorb its rich sound.

The tactic worked. Although nearly every review of the iPod mentioned that $399 was a lot of money for a music player, few disputed the notion that similar devices were clunky and crude in comparison.

Despite the price and the fact that it worked best only with the assistance of a Macintosh computer, the iPod became the music player to own--so much so, in fact, that Apple sold 125,000 of them in the iPod's first 60 days of existence, and people who had never considered owning a Mac bought one simply so they could use it with the iPod.