Creative Snubs Steve Jobs' Proposals in 2001 ...thus the iPod was Born

"Things could have turned out very differently. Instead of slugging out in the courts, the two companies could have been business partners.

"According to Creative's lawsuit, Apple's chief executive officer Steve Jobs had praised Creative's first MP3 player, called the Nomad Jukebox, at a January 2001 Macworld trade show.

"The prototype was launched in 2000.

"Creative said Apple wanted a smaller version of the hard disk-based Nomad Jukebox, which could store up to 1,000 songs. Its suit said that Apple made two proposals: that Creative either licenses its technology to Apple or spins off its portable player business into a new company in which Apple would invest.

"Creative said that about eight months after it turned down Apple, the iPod hit the stores in October 2001."