Cassette Adapters

iPod is a brand of portable media player designed, marketed, and manufactured by Apple Computer. Devices in the iPod family provide a simple user interface designed around a central scroll wheel (with the exception of the iPod shuffle). more...

The standard iPod model stores media on a built-in hard drive, while the smaller iPod shuffle and iPod nano use flash memory. Like most digital audio players, an iPod can serve as an external data storage device when connected to a computer.

Discontinued versions of the iPod include two generations of the popular iPod mini and four generations of the full-sized iPod, all of which had monochrome screens except for the fourth-generation iPod with color screen (previously sold as iPod photo before it replaced the monochrome iPod in the top line). As of April 2006, the lineup consists of the fifth-generation iPod, which has video playback capabilities, the iPod nano which has a color screen, and the iPod shuffle; all three versions were released in 2005. The iPod is currently the world's best-selling digital audio player. The bundled software required for uploading music, photos, and videos to the iPod is called iTunes. A music jukebox application, iTunes stores a comprehensive library of the user's music on their computer, and can play and rip music from a CD. The most recent incarnations of iPod and iTunes have video playing and organization features.

Apple's widespread marketing campaigns have led to the iPods' reputation as an easy-to-use, stylish device and dominance among the MP3 market (to the extent that some people erroneously refer to all MP3 players as "iPods"); this has led to a large market dedicated specifically to iPod accessories. Apple's proprietary actions regarding iPods and iTunes, however, have led to its criticism by some and legal battles outside of the United States.

Name

Apple Computer often refers to the player as iPod, without use of the definite article the. Apple's web site reflects this usage (for example, "iPod incorporates the same touch-sensitive Apple Click Wheel that debuted on iPod mini"), which resembles Apple's use of the words Apple Macintosh. The company has many other products with a lowercase "i" in front of the name, including iSight, iChat, iTunes, iDVD, iBook, and many more. When Apple first introduced the iMac, the "i" stood for Internet, meaning that the iMac shipped with everything needed for a connection. The "i" also stood for "individual" and "independence" — as well as other words that complemented Apple's "Think Different" Campaign launched in conjunction with the first iMac, but the prefix stuck, as the brand recognition associated with it has positive effects on the sales of Apple products. Recently, some media have started referring to the generation primarily born in the late 1980s, and which in particular has made the iPod popular, as the iGeneration, suggesting that the "i" family of products may have a far-reaching cultural impact.

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