September 21, 2005: Screw the nano

Ed Zander was once seriously considered for the Apple CEO job. Not being chosen for the position didn't dampen Mr. Zander's climb to the top. A scant few years later he found himself the CEO of Motorola, a company that partnered with Apple to create an iTunes capable cell phone.

The phone was late in coming and when it was revealed at a hugely hyped media event, the candy bar style phones immediately had their thunder stolen by a shockingly cool iPod nano that Steve Jobs pulled from his jeans pocket.

Of course Ed Zander was a little miffed. Not only was the ROKR widely ridiculed, but the media splash was muted by the buzz around the nano. When asked about the nano a few weeks after this intro Zander remarked, "screw the nano." Ed Zander publicly joined the ranks of CEOs (including Bill Gates) waiting for the moment in time when cell phones would render the iPod obsolete this week in 2005.