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The iPod Portable Media Player

The iPod was first introduced and marketed by Apple Computer in 2001. It is a portable media players which, except for the iPod shuffle, is centered on a central scroll wheel with full-sized models having the capability of storing media on a built-in hard disk drive. The smaller versions of the iPod, called the iPod shuffle and iPod nano, make use of flash memory. All iPods have the added capability of serving as auxiliary storage when connected to a computer. The latest 5th generation iPods come complete with video players, color screens, and bundled software called iTunes. They are also capable of uploading music, photos, and videos.

iTunes is a software package that gives the user plenty to rave about. It includes the ability to serve as a musical jukebox capable of becoming an all encompassing music library that stores, plays, burns and rips music from a CD as well as having video organizational capabilities. An iPod is one of the most popular tech toys whose popularity is increasing every day, being the best selling digital audio player on the market today.

Apple Computer found that the market for digital cameras, camcorders and organizers was already saturated but recognized that there was a need for higher quality digital audio players and so decided to develop a suitable device to meet this segment of the market. On October 23, 2001, it unveiled the first Mac-attuned iPod that could store 1,000 songs and had a hard disk capacity of 5 GB. The popularity of the iPod has been growing ever since and has now become a must in every music lovers arsenal of audio and video equipment.

How is the iPod Operated?

There are five main buttons that are found on every iPod. The buttons on the latest models are integrated beneath the scroll wheel, a highly innovative mechanism that makes the iPod very uncluttered and minimalist. The buttons are Play, Center select, Play/Pause, Fast Forward or Skip forward and fast reverse or skip backwards. In addition, there is also a Hold button whose function is eliminating unwanted behavior which may be caused by accidentally pressing a button.

The capabilities of the iPod are very diverse. They can play a variety of audio/video formats including WAV, MP3, M4A/AAC, Protected AAC and AIFF. This allows the user to play almost any type of music they want to listen to, regardless of its storage format. Mass storage is a key feature that allows the user to store a large number of songs as well as either Mac or Windows computer files. This feature allows users to synchronize their contacts and schedules making the iPod a productivity tool as well. As of October, 26, 2004, Apple Computer introduced some changes to the coloring of its iPods, based on the color scheme of Irish rock band, U2’s album cover (How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb). The result was an iPod having a black case with red scroll wheels and the signatures of the band members engraved on the back.

One main criticism of Apple’s iPod is that the battery life is only 8 hours and that lithium-ion batteries do not last very long. In addition, the bass response and equalizer bass distortion tends to take away from some of the pleasure of owning an Apple iPod. Nevertheless, sales are expected to continue their rapid climb, and may at some point in the future, be in nearly every household.

A Few Top Selling iPod Holders
Cat Video iPod Holder	Poodle iPod Holder	Skull iPod Holder

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