The iPod

www.apple.com/ipod


The iPod is a brand of portable media players designed and marketed by Apple which launched in 2001. They are primarily digital audio players, designed around a central click wheel. As of October 2005, the line-up consists of the video-capable fifth generation iPod, the smaller iPod nano, and the display-less iPod shuffle. In January 2007, Apple announced the iPhone, a device that combined the features of the video-capable iPod with mobile phone and mobile Internet capabilities.



The website for the Apple iPod claims that “you can buy movies from the iTunes Store and sync them to your iPod, and the whole world is your theatre. With a 30GB or 80GB iPod in hand, those movies fit comfortably next to TV shows, new iPod games, podcasts, audio books, photo albums, and, of course, an entire library of music — up to 20,000 songs, in fact. Now starting at $249, iPod is a pocket-size prodigy. With enough room for your favourite music and video, this iPod has both sound and vision. Of course, it also boasts stamina (up to 20 hours of battery life), generous capacity (30GB or 80GB of storage), a great personality (intuitive, customizable menus), and a touch of genius (the Click Wheel). In other words, iPod makes an ideal companion. Why not get to know it better? Click on a feature to see it on the new iPod display, then read about it here.”



Apple's iTunes software is used to transfer music to the devices. As a free jukebox application, iTunes stores an entire music library on the user's computer and can play, burn, and rip music from a CD. It can also transfer photos, videos, games, and calendars to the models that support them. Some built-in games are available, including Brick (a clone of Breakout), Parachute, Solitaire, and Music Quiz. A firmware update released in September 2006 brought some extra features to fifth generation iPods including adjustable screen brightness, gapless playback, and downloadable games (available for purchase from the iTunes Store).



Apple focused its development on the iPod's unique user interface and its ease of use, rather than on technical capability. The company found that existing digital music players were "big and clunky” or “small and useless" with user interfaces that were "unbelievably awful", so Apple decided to develop it's own. As of October 2004, the iPod is the world's best-selling range of digital audio players and its worldwide mainstream adoption made it one of the most popular consumer brands. Some of Apple's design choices and proprietary actions have, however, led to criticism and legal battles.

Here is a quick idea of how the iPod has changed over the past six years:

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The iPod is an extremely modern piece of new media technology which has captured many people's imaginations and spawned many more copies -- take the CreativeZen for example, which has tried to create the same kind of consumer loyalty that Apple have obtained. The iPod is a good example of microsizing and convergence, through its small and sleek design, and the multiple features the new iPod now has.