14 DAY TRIAL // Tony Fadell, the guy who fist envisioned the iPod in the 1990s, has left Apple, where his most recent position was that of special adviser for the company’s CEO, Mr. Steve Jobs. Fadell’s departure was gradual, as he had stepped down from his position as SVP of iPod division some two years earlier.
Fadell was put in charge of the iPod/iPhone division in 2006, when he replaced Jon Rubinstein who went off to Palm, to build the Pre. In 2008, Fadell stepped down as senior vice president of the iPod division, but remained on Apple’s payroll as a special adviser to Mr. Jobs, the New York Times reports.
The report goes to mention Fadell’s achievements, the most important of which was, of course, envisioning the hard drive-based portable music player. Although his idea didn’t catch on in the ‘90s, when he tapped Real Networks pursuing the product’s creation, in 2001, it did. It was around that time that Fadell decided to take his idea to Apple, whose CEO saw a great opportunity of putting an iPod in every pocket out there. Fadell’s collaboration with Apple can well be considered a historical moment.
Although Mr. Fadell declined to talk about Apple when contacted by phone, the former Apple exec did reveal he was moving on to provide his expert advice to other companies, as well as to attend to his private investments focusing on green technology, the same NY Times report reveals. Fadell’s exact words were, “My primary focus will be helping the environment by working with consumer green-tech companies.” “I’m determined to tell my kids and grandkids amazing stories beyond my iPod and iPhone ones,” he said.
Even though Fadell was actually the person who first envisioned the iPod, and had a great deal to say about how the iPhone should be, “[It’s] Mr. Jobs that gets the lion’s share of credit for innovation at Apple,” the report also informed.