iPod Varieties
- Apple has sold millions of iPods.Monkey Business Images Ltd/Valueline/Getty Images
The iPod is a line of portable MP3 audio players from Apple, Inc. The company introduced its first iPod in 2001 at a time when MP3 players and digital audio were just beginning to emerge as popular sources of music. Apple has continued to update existing iPods and introduce new ones on a regular basis. - The original iPod went on sale in late 2001. Apple offered the iPod with either a 5 GM or a 10 GM hard drive. Updates to the original iPod model, which later gained the name "iPod Classic" to differentiate it from other iPod varieties, include a touch-sensitive scroll wheel, the addition, and subsequent deletion, of a row of four buttons between the scroll wheel and the LCD screen, the addition of a color screen and video playback capabilities, the switch from Firewire to USB ports for charging and uploading files and an ongoing increase in hard drive capacity. As of 2010, the iPod Classic comes in black or white and with a hard drive of up to 160 GB.
- In 2004 and 2005, Apple introduced a second variety of the iPod known as the iPod Mini. This device was similar in appearance and function to the existing iPod, but in a smaller form factor and with a reduced hard drive capacity, Apple sold 4 GM and 6 GM versions of the iPod mini and also made the player available in a wide range of colors.
- Apple introduced the iPod Nano as a replacement for the iPod Mini in 2005. The biggest difference between the Nano and its predecessor is its use of flash memory instead of a spinning hard disc drive. This means that the iPod Nano uses less power and isn't susceptible to data loss or disc damage from bumps or drops. Apple has produced the iPod Nano in several form factors, including versions with video playback and, most recently, a touch screen. iPod Nano capacities have ranged from 1 GB to 16 GB.
- The iPod Shuffle is Apple's smallest version of the iPod. It uses flash memory exclusively, like the iPod Nano. It also exists in a range of colors. However, the iPod Shuffle doesn't have a screen. Instead, users control the device using a small set of buttons on the iPod Shuffle or on the attached headphone cable. Some later iPod Shuffles also feature VoiceOver, which allows the player to speak the name of a song, artist or playlist for easier searching. iPod Shuffle capacities have ranged from just 512 MB to 4 GB.
- The iPod Touch is a touch-based iPod that resembles and uses many components from Apple's iPhone smartphone. The iPod Touch includes an iPod music application but can also run programs from Apple's App Store, including games and Internet applications. The iPod touch has used flash memory that ranged from 8 GB to 64 GB and also has features such as a still and video camera and voice control.
