Last week, as everyone awoke to the news that everyone’s favourite tech guru and style icon Steve Jobs had stepped down from the CEO position at Apple, a lot of people will have started to worry about upcoming Apple products – what will happen next? Is Tim Cook, his replacement, up to the job? We at PC Site had to think of the first iPod we got for Christmas several years ago, the first time we bought a whole digital album on iTunes, the first time we did that swipe-motion with our finger… you get the idea. Below are the four Apple products we think had the most impact on their respective areas.

The iPod

Released in 2001, which was around the time file-sharing platform Napster had its peak, the iPod was at once a slap in the face and an irresistible, must-have gadget for record collectors. Years of collecting vinyl records and CDs seemed suddenly like a wasted exercise, since you could whack all your albums (or seemingly all of them) on that white, shiny bit of plastic. Coupled with the iTunes software, the iPod revolutionised the music industry (and probably helped kill off CDs as a medium).

The iPhone

The RIM BlackBerry had been around for a few years when, in early 2007, Steve Jobs unveiled Apple’s first smartphone. It came about almost by accident, when Jobs had the idea of extending his original plan to use multi-touch technology on a computer to mobile phones. It took two years to develop and, as most Apple products by then, was the cause of a lot of hype among the tech community. Buttonless, sleek and with a fantastic display, the iPhone had users in its thrall from the get-go and has undergone significant improvements ever since – the buzz for the upcoming iPhone 5 has been underway for some time.

The MacBook Air

Making laptops thinner had been a trend in the industry for a while in 2008, but as usual it took an Apple product to take super-skinny laptops to a level where it became not only attractive but also incredibly stylish and actually useful. The first model was a 13.3 inch slice of silver beauty, measuring only 19mm at its highest point, and had a mixed reception – people felt that Apple had compromised on graphics and CPU and slapped a disproportionate price tag on it. Nevertheless, the MacBook air has been the benchmark for any computer manufacturers looking to produce ultra-portable laptops (as opposed to netbooks) ever since.

The iPad

The big one. Since its launch a year and four months ago, the iPad has shifted around 20 million units, and is said to dominate the tablet market for the next ten years , despite the emergence of Android. Jobs even came out of his medical leave (he has been suffering from pancreatic cancer and underwent a liver transplant in 2009) to introduce the iPad 2 in March this year. With up to 64Gb storage, two cameras and the customary stylish looks, it captured the imagination of publishers with the iBooks app and prompted many to say that laptops would be a thing of the past before long.

If Apple is able to adapt to a laptop-less future is difficult to say, but it’s certain that with Steve Job’s resignation from CEO (he’ll stay on as chairman), an era is coming to an end not just for Apple, but for the whole technology industry.