3 ms·
The Japanese corporation Toshiba created the drive formfactor that made it possible, and Apple bought exclusive music player rights to it. The Nomad etc. maybe
by cma 5y ago
The Japanese corporation Toshiba created the drive formfactor that made it possible, and Apple bought exclusive music player rights to it.
The Nomad etc. maybe didn't actually lose because of lacking wheel as popularly mythologized, its successors were stuck with a bulkier more power hungry laptop drive because Apple owned exclusivity.
- qalmakka 5y agoWell, the IBM MicroDrive already existed in 2000 with sizes up to 1GB. Apple itself used them for the iPod after a certain year, so the technology for tiny drives weren't that exclusive or hard to get - I think the mindset was really the big factor at play here. Japanese conglomerates definitely didn't get the appeal behind the iPod as much as they didn't understand the iPhone in 2008.
- cma 5y agoThe microdrive was IBM with Hitachi (another Japanese company). That was first used with the mini. Probably not enough capacity at its 1.0in at launch of original iPod. The original iPod with Toshiba drive was 1.8in.