Sure, we know that Apple CEO Steve Jobs usually gets all the credit for the iPod (or at least shares it with designer Jonathan Ive), but one of the guys who really got his hands dirty on the original device has left Apple.

The New York Times is reporting that Tony Fadell, credited as one of the creators of both the iPod and the iPhone, announced Monday night that he has officially left Apple after nine years with the company.

So who is Tony Fadell? He’s the guy who “first envisioned a hard-drive-based digital music player in the 1990s,” according to the newspaper. The visionary first brought the idea to Seattle-based Real Networks, “where he reportedly clashed with Real’s chief executive, Rob Glaser, and left after six weeks.”

That departure landed him at Apple’s doorstep in 2001, where he worked for former Apple senior vice president Jon Rubinstein, now the chief executive at Palm. In 2006, Fadell replaced Rubinstein as the head of the iPod division, but stepped down in 2008 and remained on Apple’s payroll as a special adviser to Steve Jobs.

Fadell declined to talk about his work with Apple when reached by phone by the Times, but said he was “moving on to advise companies and pursue private investments,” with a particular focus on green technology.

“My primary focus will be helping the environment by working with consumer green-tech companies,” Fadell concludes. “I’m determined to tell my kids and grandkids amazing stories beyond my iPod and iPhone ones.”