IPod

The "French iPod law" is the nickname given by some English-speaking news sources to the DADVSI act.

The iPod is a brand of portable media players designed and marketed 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). The standard iPod model stores media on a built-in hard drive, while the smaller iPod shuffle and iPod nano use flash memory. Like many 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 4^th generation iPod with color screen (previously sold as iPod photo before it replaced the monochrome iPod in the main line). As of June 2006, the lineup consists of the 5^th generation iPod, which has video playback capabilities; the iPod nano, which has a color screen; and the iPod shuffle; all three models were released in 2005. The iPod is currently the world's best-selling digital audio player. The bundled software used 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, burn, and rip music from a CD. The most recent incarnations of iPod and iTunes have video playing and organization features.

The iPod's worldwide mainstream adoption has led to iPod becoming one of the world's most popular consumer brands. Some of Apple's proprietary actions regarding iPods and iTunes, however, have led to criticism as well as legal battles.

Name

Apple Computers often refers to the player as iPod, without use of the definite article the. Apple's web site reflects this usage (e.g., "iPod incorporates the same touch-sensitive Apple Click Wheel that debuted on iPod mini"), which resembles Apple's use of the words Apple Macintosh. When Apple first introduced the iMac, the "i" stood for Internet, meaning that the iMac shipped with everything needed for a connection. Now, many other names of Apple products start with a lowercase "i". 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. The prefix has now outlasted that particular advertising campaign, and its brand recognition has continued to yield positive effects on the sales of other Apple products. Recently, some in the media have started referring to the generation born in the late 1980s as the iGeneration, suggesting that the "i" family of products are having a far-reaching cultural impact.

History

Development of the iPod grew out of Apple's digital hub strategy, as the company was creating software applications for the growing number of digital devices being snapped up by consumers. While digital cameras, camcorders and organizers had well-established markets, the company found digital music players lacking in quality and Apple decided to develop its own. Apple's Hardware engineering chief Jon Rubinstein assembled a team of engineers to design and build the first iPod in less than a year, with Tony Fadell and Michael Dhuey as the principal hardware engineers. It was unveiled by CEO Steve Jobs on October 23, 2001 as a Mac-compatible product with a 5 GB hard drive that put "1,000 songs in your pocket." In 2002, Apple released the 2^nd generation iPod in two versions, one for Mac users and one for Windows users. The only difference though was the bundled software; since there was no iTunes for Windows at the time, the Windows iPods came packaged with Musicmatch software. The actual iPods could work with either system (though to work with Windows, they had to use the FAT32 filesystem, Mac iPods could use either the FAT32 or HFS Plus filesystem). In 2003, Apple released 3^rd generation iPods which included a single CD that had a Windows version of the iTunes software in addition to the Mac version. The slightly thinner 4^th generation changes included the Apple Click Wheel replacing four less intuitive buttons. 2005's 5^th generation iPod married audio, photo, and video functions with a color screen on all models. Since October 2004, the iPod has dominated digital music player sales in the United States, with over 90% of the market for hard-drive-based players and over 70% of the market for all types of players. The iPod has sold at a tremendous rate, now past 42 million units since its release. Apple and several industry analysts have suggested that the iPod has encouraged users of non-Apple products to switch to other Apple products, such as to Macintosh computers.

On April 26, 2006, EE Times reported that a Samsung Electronics executive vice president had announced that Samsung had won the contract to provide the media processor for a future model iPod, replacing Apple's previous supplier PortalPlayer. PortalPlayer had announced a week before that their updated processor would not be used in upcoming flash-based iPods.

Design

Jeff Robbin headed the team that originally developed both the iPod firmware and the iTunes program at Apple. His team integrated the core firmware from PortalPlayer with the user interface library developed by Pixo. (The founder of Pixo had worked on the Apple Newton, a personal digital assistant formerly produced by Apple.) The Pixo libraries provide the user interface, though the iPod photo has incorporated some visual elements from Mac OS X, such as the animated Aqua style progress bar. More recent iPods, such as the iPod nano and 5^th generation iPod, also incorporate the "brushed-metal" effect, previously used in iTunes before version 5.0, in their stopwatch, screen lock and radio features. Until the release of iPod mini, the user interface of all iPods used "Chicago", the font used on the original Macintosh computer from 1984, designed by Susan Kare. The iPod mini used the "Espy Sans" font (previously seen in eWorld, the Newton, and Copland), while the iPod nano, color 4^th generation iPods (previously known as iPod photo) and 5^th generation iPods use Myriad, Apple's current corporate typeface.

The physical design of iPod is credited to Jonathan Ive's industrial design team at Apple. The iPod unit's case snaps together, with no screws or adhesive involved (though the 4^th generation has some adhesive holding the battery in place). The plastic front of the case has clips which lock under a ridge inside the rim of the metal case back. A servicer can pry the iPod open by carefully inserting a small non-metal screwdriver to pull the metal away from the clips.

iPod contains a small internal speaker which generates the scroll wheel clicks and alarm clock beep sound, but this internal speaker cannot play music.

Operation

All full-size, mini, and nano iPods have five buttons. Newer generations have the buttons integrated underneath the scroll wheel, an innovation which confers an uncluttered, minimalistic interface. The buttons are:

Menu (to traverse backwards through the menus, and toggle the backlight)
Center Select (this selects a menu item)
Play / Pause (this doubles as an off switch when held)
Fast Forward / Skip Forward
Fast Reverse / Skip Backwards

A Hold switch on the top of the unit, when toggled, prevents unwanted behavior from accidental button presses. Newer iPods automatically pause playback when the headphones are unplugged from the headphone jack. However, playback does not resume when the headphones are re-inserted.

The iPod shuffle also has five buttons, which function somewhat differently from the iPod models with screens. The shuffle has a Play/Pause button in the center, which is surrounded by four buttons, Volume Up and Volume Down, and Skip Forward and Skip Backwards.

The older iPods with FireWire ports can function as external hard drives without any additional iPod functionality in FireWire Disk Mode. An iPod unable to start due to either a firmware or a hardware problem displays the "sad iPod" image."sad iPod" image This is reminiscent of the sad Mac icon of earlier Macintosh computers.

Capabilities

Software

The iPod can play MP3, WAV, M4A/AAC, Protected AAC, AIFF, Audible audiobook, and Apple Lossless audio file formats. The 5^th generation iPod can also play .m4v and .mp4 MPEG-4 (namely H.264/MPEG-4 AVC) video file formats. The Microsoft Windows version of iTunes can transcode regular non copy-protected WMA files to an iPod supported format. WMA files with copy protection cannot be played in iTunes or be copied to an iPod. Reviewers have criticized the iPod's inability to play some other formats, in particular the Ogg Vorbis and FLAC formats. MIDI files cannot be played on iPods, but can be converted into a compatible audio file format by choosing the "advanced" menu on iTunes.

Using the Rockbox open source jukebox firmware iPods after the 4^th generation are capable of playing Ogg Vorbis, FLAC, Musepack, Wavpack, Shorten, Midi, WAV, AIFF, M4A/AAC, and of course, MP3, but not FairPlay protected iTMS files. Rockbox also offers other benefits such as gapless playback and a more sophisticated equaliser, although it does significantly reduce battery life.

Apple designed the iPod to work with the iTunes media library software, which lets users manage the music libraries on their computers and on their iPods. iTunes can automatically synchronize a user's iPod with specific playlists or with the entire contents of a music library each time an iPod connects to a host computer. Users may also set a rating (out of 5 stars) on any song, and can synchronize this information with their iTunes music library.

iTunes lacks the ability to transfer songs from iPod to computer, possibly a condition of Apple's negotiated arrangements with record companies. Audio tracks and other content on an iPod are stored in a hidden format together with an Apple-proprietary database. While the hidden content can be accessed through the host operating system, practical recovery of the audio content with proper filenames, tag information, playlists, and photos requires the use of third party software, numerous examples of which can be found by searching the web.

iTunes Music Store

The iTunes Music Store (iTMS) is an online music store run by Apple and accessed via iTunes. It was introduced on April 28, 2003 and sells individual songs relatively easily and cheaply (e.g., States dollar|US$" target="_blank" >^*0.99, EU€0.99, GB£0.79). The iPod is the only portable music player that can play the purchased music and this exclusiveness has helped the store become the dominant online music service.

The purchased audio files use the AAC format with added encryption. The encryption is based on the controversial FairPlay digital rights management (DRM) system. Up to five authorized computers and an unlimited amount of iPods can play the files. Burning the files onto an audio CD removes the DRM, at a cost of reduced quality when re-compressed from one lossy format to another.

iPods cannot play music files encrypted with other rival DRM technologies, such as Microsoft's protected WMA or RealNetworks' Helix DRM. RealNetworks claims that Apple is creating problems for itself,Michael Kanellos, Real's Glaser exhorts Apple to open iPod (March 23 2004) CNet. Accessed on 2006-06-20. by using FairPlay to lock users into using the iTunes Music Store. Steve Jobs has stated that Apple makes very little profit from song sales, but Apple uses the iTMS to promote iPod sales.Andrew Orlowski, Your 99c belong to the RIAA-Steve Jobs (November 7 2003) The Register. Accessed on 2006-06-20

File storage

A major feature of all iPod models is the ability to function as a mass storage device for storage of user files. This feature has been available ever since the very first FireWire iPod. At the time of the iPod's release, many MP3 players did not offer access directly to the storage medium's filesystem; some devices in fact used a custom filesystem that was not accessible except by the bundled software. The iPod, even without iTunes, functions as a standard FireWire or USB drive and can be accessed without drivers on any Mac with Mac OS 8.6 or later, or any Windows PC with Windows ME or later. The iPod shuffle is designed to be used as a flash drive as well as a music player.

Although the iPod shows up as a removable disk, one must still use iTunes, or another compatible third-party software program, to load music into the iPod for playback. Simply copying files to the drive will not allow them to be played. (Some third-party firmwares for the iPod, however, do enable this capability.)

Additional features

In addition to playing music and storing files, iPods have limited PDA functionality and can display text files. Since January 2003, Mac users have been able to synchronize their contacts and schedules to their iPods using iSync. With the 2005 release of iTunes 5.0, Apple integrated contact/schedule syncing into iTunes and added the ability for Windows users to synchronize their contacts and schedules from Microsoft Outlook and Outlook Express. Although Mozilla Calendar and Mozilla Sunbird both use the same file format used by iCal and the iPod, there is no way to automatically sync schedules among these programs. However the files can be manually dragged and dropped into the correct directory on the iPod.

The limited PDA calendar functions of the iPod are somewhat tainted for users from Newfoundland and parts of Australia. Their time zones are excluded from the iPod's firmware, leaving them unable to properly sync calendar events and alarms to their devices. No workaround (including mentally converting times when reading them) is functionally acceptable due to the combined behaviours of iSync, iCal, and the iPod with regards to converting events between time zones. Apple has yielded no commitment to correct this problem as of June, 2006.

Current iPod models (except the iPod shuffle) also include built-in games:

Brick : a clone of the Breakout arcade game from Atari. (Originally created by Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak.)
Parachute : a game in which the user controls a gun turret and attempts to shoot down paratroopers and the helicopters which drop them. Parachute is similar to the Apple II game Sabotage by Mark Allen.
Solitaire : a simple card game resembling the Klondike solitaire card game.
Music Quiz : an interactive music quiz featuring the user's own songs. The game plays a portion of a random song in the iPod's library and prompts the user to identify it from a list of 5 (or of 4 on the iPod mini) choices. A song drops off the list every few seconds. The less time the user requires to correctly identify the song, the more points he or she earns. Music Quiz became available through a free firmware update for 3^rd generation iPods released in October 2003 and later came standard with the iPod mini and 4^th generation iPods. No record is kept of the score, and there is no limit on the number of songs played. However, the songs begin to repeat after the first 100. Music Quiz requires rapid disk seeking and therefore uses a lot of battery power.

Hardware

Originally iPod connected to a user's computer to update songs and recharge its battery solely through FireWire. It could also be charged by connecting it to a small power adapter which shipped for free with the first several generations. The now standard dock connector was not added until the 3^rd generation in April 2003, allowing users the option of using FireWire or USB to make data transfers, although the device could still not be charged by USB and the USB cable was not included. As few non-Apple computers had FireWire ports at the time, this move effectively opened the Windows market to iPod, although USB only Windows users had to keep their FireWire cables to plug into the wall adapter. The dock connector also made it possible to transfer data, sound, and power back and forth to iPod accesories, which created an explosive market of devices that has been extremely profitable for third-parties such as Belkin and Griffin. The resulting myriad of connecting devices is still one of iPod's greatest strengths over competitors.

The 4^th generation iPod could be charged over USB, and eventually Apple started shipping iPods with USB cables instead of FireWire ones. Many Macs shipped before 2004 had only USB 1.1, which has a transfer speed of 11 Mbit/s, as opposed to FireWire's 400 Mbit/s and USB 2.0's 480 Mbit/s. Although none of these actually transfers at these exact rates, USB 1.1 is much slower than the other two, and for some users USB 1.1 may simply be unusable for transferring music collections to fill a 40 GB iPod. Later introductions continued to lessen iPod's reliance on FireWire. iPod shuffle, released in January 2005, plugs directly into a USB port, without a dock connector and has no FireWire support. The iPod nano, released in September 2005, uses a dock connector that allows a FireWire cable to be plugged in to charge the device, but not to transfer data. With the 5^th generation iPod, Apple dropped all support for data transfer over FireWire to any model iPod. Like the nano, the 5^th generation iPod's dock connector will accept a FireWire cable and can draw power from it, but only the USB connection, not the FireWire one, will support data transfer - a message stating this appears on the iPod screen. This has drawn some criticism from the Mac community, since FireWire has been a standard feature on Apple Macs for many years, while USB 2.0 support was only added in October 2003.

The first three generations of iPod used two ARM 7TDMI-derived CPUs running at 90 MHz, while later models have variable speed chips which run at a peak of 80 MHz to save battery life. The iPods use 1.8 inch (46 mm) ATA hard drives (with a proprietary connector) made by Toshiba. The iPod mini used 1" Microdrives manufactured by Hitachi. The iPod has a 32 MiB flash ROM chip which contains a bootloader, a program that tells the device to load the operating system from another medium (in this case, the hard drive). All iPods, except for the 60 GB 5^th generation iPod, have 32 MiB of RAM, a portion of which holds the iPod OS loaded from the firmware and the vast majority of which serves to cache songs loaded from the hard drive. For example, an iPod could spin the hard disk up once and copy about 30 MiB of upcoming songs on a playlist into RAM, thus saving power by not having the drive spin up for each song. (The 60 GB 5^th generation iPod holds 64 MiB of RAM, to further extend battery life.)

iPod was originally introduced with a grayscale display but no current model uses one. iPod photo (in addition to the functionality of the 4^th generation iPod released in late 2004) introduced a color screen, while iPod shuffle (released January 2005) has no screen at all. When iPod mini was replaced with iPod nano it received a color screen (and photo capabilty) and starting with the 5^th generation all full size iPods have color screens and photo capability.

Earphones

All iPods come with earbud headphones with distinctive white cords and earbuds, a color chosen to match the design of the original iPod. The white cords have become symbolic of the iPod brand, and advertisements for the devices feature them prominently. Many other brands also make white headphones, due to their popularity. Although they are stylish, many people claim the iPod earbuds to be uncomfortable. Despite the fact that new generations of the iPod now appear in black as well as white, the headphones remain white, as do the USB cables, chargers, docks, and remotes.

The distinctive earphones have such good recognition characteristics that it has been suggested that they may be a liability – after a 24% rise in robbery and a 10% increase in grand larceny in the NYC subway system, a spokesperson for the New York City Police Department suggested that iPods might be behind the increases.iPod Thieves Hit Subways New York Times 2005-03-30

Compatibility

The original iPod was designed for use with Macintosh computers running Mac OS 9 or Mac OS X but Apple began selling a Windows-compatible iPod on July 17, 2002. Apple released a Windows version of iTunes on October 16, 2003; previously, Windows users needed third-party software such as Musicmatch Jukebox (included with Windows iPods before the release of the Windows version of iTunes), ephPod, or XPlay to manage the music on their iPods.

iPods originally shipped formatted with Apple's native filesystem, HFS Plus, and consequently would only work with Apple's Mac OS because Windows does not support HFS Plus. An iPod formatted with HFS Plus is able to serve as a boot disk for a Macintosh computer, allowing one to have a usable, portable operating system installed on their iPod. With the advent of the Windows-compatible iPod, Apple switched iPod's default file system to FAT32 because FAT32 is the only file system that can be used natively with both Mac OS and Windows. 4^th generation and earlier iPods could still be made to boot a Macintosh by reformatting their hard disks with HFS Plus.

The iPodLinux project has successfully ported an ARM version of the Linux kernel to run on iPods. It currently officially supports 1^st through 3^rd generation iPods, but has been successfully installed on all iPods (Except the shuffle), and features simple installers for Mac OS X and Windows. The Linux interface is known as "Podzilla". The interface will run on all iPods, however the development team does not support its usage. The iPod uses standard USB and FireWire mass-storage connectivity, and therefore any system with mass-storage support can mount it and use it as an external hard drive. The iPod will also charge from any powered USB or FireWire port, regardless of software support.

Models

Apple currently markets three distinct players bearing the iPod name. Each model has different capacities (a higher capacity allows the storage of more music) or with different designs. The model range as of April 25, 2006 includes the iPod (30 GB and 60 GB), iPod nano (1 GB, 2 GB, and 4 GB) and iPod shuffle (512 MB and 1 GB).

The iPod minis (4 GB and 6 GB and in various colors) are now discontinued, having been replaced by the iPod nano. The iPod U2 Special Edition 4^th generation monochrome and color models were also discontinued. The Harry Potter 20 GB Collector's 4^th generation iPod was replaced by the Harry Potter 30 GB Collector's iPod, which is simply a 5^{th^{generation iPod with a Harry Potter engraving and the Harry Potter audiobooks pre-loaded. A new 5^th generation U2 Special Edition was released on 2006-06-06.}}

iPod

While all iPods have roughly the same size and the same capabilities, the design has undergone several revisions since its introduction to the market. Five distinct generations of iPods exist, commonly known as: 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th, and 5^th generations.

Within any generation of iPods, various models with different sizes of hard drives have come onto the market at different price points. During the 3^rd generation, three sizes of iPods were marketed, priced at US$299, US$399, and US$499. Currently, Apple sells two sizes of iPod: a 30 GB hard drive for US$299, and a 60 GB model for US$399. Apple says 1 GB of storage will hold 250, 4-minute songs in 128 kbit/s AAC. For the 1^st and 2^nd generation iPod, Apple said 1 GB would hold 200 songs; although this wasn't based on their standard 4-minute 128 kbit/s AAC encoding calculation they use today. Encoding songs at higher bitrates will take up more space on the hard drive. One can scale this proportion up; the current 30 GB iPod can hold roughly 7,500 songs, based on Apple's calculation of 4 minutes per song with 128 kbit/s AAC encoding. It should be noted - as with all storage devices - the actual capacity is lower than advertised.

1^st generation

First announced on October 23, 2001, the original iPod cost US$399 with a 5 GB hard drive. Critics panned the unit's price, but iPod proved an instant hit in the marketplace, quickly overtaking earlier hard drive MP3 players such as the NOMAD Jukebox. Apple announced a 10 GB version (US$499) in March 2002.

Apple designed a mechanical scroll wheel and outsourced the implementation and development to Synaptics, a firm which also developed the trackpad for Apple's PowerBooks. The 1^st generation iPod featured four buttons (Menu, Play/Pause, Back, and Forward) arranged around the circumference of the scroll wheel, and one Select button in the center.

2^nd generation

Introduced on July 17, 2002, at Macworld in 10 GB and 20 GB capacities, the 2^nd generation iPod replaced the mechanical scroll wheel of the original with a touch-sensitive, non-mechanical one (also manufactured by Synaptics), termed a "touch wheel." - although cosmetic-wise, this looked almost indistinguishable to the original iPod. Due to new Toshiba hard drives, the 20 GB iPod slightly exceeded its 1^st generation counterpart in thickness and weight, while the 10 GB model was slimmer. The 2^nd generation iPod came with a carrying case and wired remote and it was the first generation that was officially compatible with Windows (although it is possible to reformat 1^st generation iPods to be Windows-compatible).

=Limited Edition iPods

= In December 2002 Apple released 4 limited-edition, laser-engraved, autographed iPods from Beck, Tony Hawk, Madonna, and No Doubt. They sold for US$50 over the normal retail price in each capacity until the 2^nd generation iPods were discontinued.

3^rd generation

On April 28, 2003, Steve Jobs introduced an "ultrathin" iPod series. Slightly smaller than their predecessors, they had more distinctively beveled edges. Over the life of the 3^rd generation iPod series, Apple produced 10 GB, 15 GB, 20 GB, 30 GB, and 40 GB sizes. These iPods use a 30-pin connector called the Dock Connector — longer and flatter than a FireWire connector. The iPod Dock came bundled with all but the least expensive iPod and also retailed separately.

The 3^rd generation iPod featured touch-sensitive buttons located between the display and touch wheel. The new buttons featured red backlighting, allowing easier use in darkness. The touch-sensitive buttons, which build upon the touch-sensitive scroll wheel introduced in the 2^nd generation iPod, make the 3^rd generation iPod unique in that it has no external moving parts (other than the hold slider on the top of the unit) and is the only iPod that doesn't have its buttons surrounding the wheel. With the 3^rd generation iPod, Apple stopped shipping separate Mac and Windows versions of the unit. Instead, all iPods now shipped with their hard drives formatted for Macintosh use; the included CD-ROM featured a Windows utility which could reformat them for use with a Windows PC.

4^th generation

In July 2004, Apple released the 4^th generation iPod. In a new publicity route, Steve Jobs announced it by becoming the subject of a Newsweek magazine cover. The 4^th generation iPod is considered the model in which sales greatly increased, thus starting the "iPod Craze."

In the most obvious difference from its predecessors, the 4^th generation iPod carries over the click wheel design introduced on the iPod mini. Some users criticized the click wheel because it does not have the backlight that the 3^rd generation iPod's buttons had, but others noted that having the buttons on the compass points largely removed any need for backlighting. Apple also claimed that updated software in the new iPod allows it to use the battery more efficiently and increase battery life to 12 hours. Other minor changes included the addition of a "Shuffle Songs" option on the top-level menu to make it more convenient for users. After many requests from users asking for these improvements to operate on earlier iPods as well, Apple on February 23, 2005, released a firmware update which brings the new menu items to 1^st through 3^rd generation iPods.

Like its predecessors, the 4^th generation iPod originally had a monochrome screen and no photo capabilities. It came in one of two sizes: 20 GB for US$299 and 40 GB for US$399. In February 2005 Apple discontinued the 40 GB model and began solely selling a monochrome 20 GB version. The monochrome 4^th generation iPod, about one millimeter thinner than the 3^rd generation iPod, introduced the ability to charge the battery over a USB connection.

=iPod photo/iPod with color display

For more information on iPod photo prior to its merger with the main iPod line, see iPod photo.

Released on October 28, 2004, iPod photo (originally named iPod Photo — with a capital P — but renamed less than a month after its launch)Don's Top Ten Gifts, Working with Address Book, Block iPods Kibbles & Bytes newsletter #391 2004-11-19 Small Dog. URL accessed on 2006-06-07. featured a 220x176 pixel (maximum pixel count of 38,720), 16-bit color screen capable of displaying 65,536 colors, and the ability to store and display JPEG, BMP, GIF, TIFF, and PNG images. One millimeter thicker than the standard monochrome 4^th generation iPod, iPod photo could also play music for up to 15 hours per battery charge. It originally came in 40 GB and 60 GB versions, which cost US$499 and US$599, respectively.

On February 23, 2005, Apple discontinued the 40 GB model; and introduced a lower-priced 30 GB model; which included only a USB cable and no dock, and dropped the price of the 60 GB model. However, unlike the first iPod photos, the lower-priced 60 GB and the new 30 GB models lacked the dock, FireWire cable, carrying case, or AV cables.

On June 28, 2005, Apple Computer merged the iPod and iPod photo lines, removing all monochrome models from the main iPod line, giving the 20 GB iPod all of the capabilities of the former iPod photo line for US$299, the same price as the previous monochrome version. The price of the 60 GB iPod photo, now known as iPod 60 GB, dropped from US$449 to US$399, and Apple discontinued the US$349 30 GB iPod photo model. Apple Computer — as well as prominent fan sites (such as iLounge) — continued to refer to this lineup as 4^th generation iPods.

=iPod U2 Special Edition

= On October 28, 2004, Apple released a black-and-red edition of the 4^th generation iPod called iPod U2 Special Edition. Originally retailing for US$349, it had a black front with a red click wheel (the colors of U2's latest album, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb), and featured the signatures of U2's band members engraved on the back. It also included an iTunes Music Store coupon redeemable for US$50 off the price of The Complete U2, a "digital boxed set" featuring over 400 tracks of U2 music.

On June 28, 2005, at the same time as the announcement of the merger of the iPod and the iPod photo lines, Apple added a color screen and photo capabilities to the iPod U2 Special Edition while dropping the price to US$329. On October 12, 2005, Apple discontinued the iPod U2 Special Edition with the introduction of the 5^th generation iPod. The U2 iPod was the last iPod to ship with FireWire connection cables and firmware (even when the U2 iPod was reintroduced), prompting some analysts to speculate about the future inclusion of FireWire interfaces on Apple products.

On June 6, 2006, Apple reintroduced an iPod U2 Special Edition at a price of US$329. The new U2 iPod has the same features as the 30 GB 5^th generation iPod (it is not available in a 60 GB model). In contrast to the previous iPod U2 special editions as well as every previous iPod, the new version has a black metal back. There is also a coupon to the iTunes Music Store that can be used for a 30-minute U2 video (though it also can be used for anything else at the Music Store).iPod U2 Special Edition. Accessed June 6, 2006.

=Harry Potter Collector's iPod

= On October 12, 2005 Apple introduced the Harry Potter collectible iPod along with an update of the iPod line. The new Harry Potter iPod has the Hogwarts crest laser-engraved on the back of the device and is sold with the "Complete Harry Potter" (the first 6 books in the Harry Potter series). The capacity of this model iPod was increased to 30 GB from the previous 20 GB.

5^th generation

On October 12, 2005 Apple launched the 5^th generation iPod at the "One more thing..." event. This iPod is often called the iPod video or the video iPod, while Apple documentation refers to it as the Fifth Generation iPod or iPod with video (compared with the Fourth Generation iPod, iPod with color display, or iPod (Click Wheel); the Third Generation iPod or iPod (dock connector); Second Generation iPod or iPod (touch wheel); and First Generation iPod or iPod (scroll wheel)).

5^th generation iPods are available in 30 GB and 60 GB capacity models and are priced the same as the previous generation at US$299 and US$399, respectively. They also feature the ability to play MPEG-4 and H.264 video with resolutions of up to 480x480 (maximum macroblock (16x16 pixel) count of 900) and 320x240 (maximum macroblock (16x16 pixel) count of 300), respectively (videos purchased from the iTunes Music Store are limited to 320x240). Some users have reported the ability to play widescreen resolutions up to 640x360 using MPEG-4 and 400x192 using H.264 (total macroblock count falls within the stated maximums). Richard Menta. "Apple Portable Does Video. Notes." MP3 Newswire. Accessed on October 13, 2005.

5^th generation models have a 65,536 color (16-bit) screen, with a 320x240 QVGA transflective TFT display, and are able to display video on an external TV via the AV cable accessory, which plugs into the headphone minijack and splits into composite video and audio output connectors with RCA jacks. They can also display video on an external TV using the iPod AV or S-video cables with the iPod Universal Dock. The dimensions are 4.1 x 2.4 x 0.43 inches for the 30 GB version, and 4.1 x 2.4 x 0.55 inches for the 60 GB version. The screen size is now 2.5 inches (6.35 cm) diagonally, 0.5 inches (12.7 mm) larger than the previous iPod. It is also 30% thinner than the previous full-size iPod. The reported battery life for the 30 GB is 14 hours and for the 60 GB is around 20 hours. Watching movies reduces that amount to 2 and 3 hours respectively.

The click wheel design is the same as the previous generation, but is marginally smaller (1.5 inch diameter) than before. The new click wheel is completely flat, unlike older models where the center button is slightly rounded and raised. Apple stopped producing iPods with the click wheels used in the 4^th generation iPod and iPod mini from their previous supplier, Synaptics, and now use an in-house solution.

Like the iPod nano, the 5^th generation iPod comes in two colors, white and black, and it features the World Clock, Stopwatch, and Screen Lock applications. In addition, the port for the add-on remote control attachment is gone. The headphone jack doubles as an A/V port for connecting the iPod to an external display. Now, instead of using an in-line remote attached to the headphone jack, an "Radio Remote" accessory can be purchased which plugs into the dock connector and also gives the iPod the ability to receive FM radio transmissions. Another remote control accessory is an IR remote which will control the iPod when docked in the Universal Dock. 5^th generation iPods also come with a thin slip case, most likely in response to many complaints concerning the iPod nano's easily-scratched surface. Apple also discontinued the inclusion of an AC adapter and FireWire cable. One must purchase these items separately in order to charge the iPod from a household outlet, or use an external, powered USB hub. The 5^th generation iPod no longer supports file transfers via FireWire, but still supports charging using FireWire. This is most likely due to the increased popularity of Hi-Speed USB 2.0 in the consumer market as well as decreasing manufacturing component costs by lowering the complexity of the circuit boards and removing unnecessary accessories.

iPod mini

Apple entered the market for "mini"-form-factor digital audio players in January 2004, with the introduction of the iPod mini, competing directly with players like Creative's Zen Micro and Digital Networks Rio Carbon. The iPod mini had largely the same feature set as the full-sized iPod, but lacked support for some third-party accessories. Its smaller display had one fewer line than previous models, limiting the on-screen track identification to title and artist only, and not the album. In addition, it introduced the ability to charge over a USB connection. The iPod minis used Microdrive hard drives for storage. The iPod mini was discontinued on September 7, 2005 after Apple announced it was to be replaced by the iPod nano, which was 62% smaller in size and included a color screen.

1^st generation mini

On January 6, 2004, Apple introduced the first iPod mini. It had 4 GB of storage and a price of US$249 (at the time, only US$50 below the 15 GB 3^rd generation iPod). Critics panned it as too expensive, but it proved to be overwhelmingly popular, and Apple Stores had difficulty keeping the model in stock.

The iPod mini introduced the popular "click wheel" that was incorporated into later iPods: the touch-sensitive wheel means that users can move a finger around it to highlight selections on the screen, while the unit's Menu, Back, Forward, and Play/Pause buttons are part of the wheel itself, letting a user press down on part of the wheel to activate one of those functions. The center button still acted as a select button. Apple initially made iPod mini devices available in five colors: silver, gold, blue, pink, and green. Silver models sold best, followed by blue ones, while the least popular model was gold.

2^nd generation mini

In February 2005, the 2^nd generationhttp://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=300850 iPod mini came on the market with a new 6 GB model at US$249 and an updated 4 GB model priced at US$199. Most notably, both models featured an increased battery life of up to 18 hours. In addition, they featured richer case colors (though Apple discontinued the gold color) and other minor aesthetic changes (the color of the lettering on the click wheel now matched the color of the iPod mini). Also, the 2^nd generation minis did not include the AC adapter or the FireWire cable bundled with previous models. It instead came bundled with a USB 2.0 to Dock Connector cable.

iPod shuffle

Apple announced iPod shuffle at Macworld Expo on January 11, 2005 with the taglines "Life is random" and "Give change a chance." iPod shuffle introduced flash memory (rather than a hard drive) to iPods for the first time. The shuffle comes in two models: 512 MB (up to 120 four-minute songs encoded at 128 kbit/s) and 1 GB (up to 240). Unlike other iPod models, iPod shuffle cannot play Apple Lossless or AIFF encoded audio files—possibly due to the iPod shuffle's smaller processing power. The shuffle has a SigmaTel processor. One review regards it as having one of the best-sounding audio systems of all the iPod models.http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1778968,00.asp

(Originally, the iPod shuffle website contained a footnote advising people not to eat the iPod shuffle like gum; it was later removed, possibly because several users photographed themselves with their iPod shuffles in their mouths.) Like the rest of the iPod family, iPod shuffle can operate as a USB mass storage device. The 512 MB iPod shuffle is US$69, and the 1 GB model is US$99 (originally US$99 and US$149, 1 GB model later dropped to US$129).

iPod nano

On September 7 2005, Apple announced the iPod nano, the successor to the iPod mini. Based on flash memory instead of a hard drive, the iPod nano is 0.27 inches (6.9 mm) thick, weighs 1.5 ounces (42 g), and is 62% smaller by volume than its predecessor. Available in both black and white and 1 GB (introduced on 7 February 2006, at US$149), 2 GB (US$199), and 4 GB (US$249) capacities for a total of six models. It has a 1.5 inch (38 mm) diagonal, 65,536 color screen that can display photographs. It connects to a computer via USB 2.0, and the headphone jack is located at the bottom. It retains the standard 30-pin Dock Connector for compatibility with third-party peripherals. The nano was the first Dock Connector iPod that could not sync over FireWire, though it can still be charged through the FireWire interface.

Criticisms

Battery life

The current iPod models use internal lithium-ion batteries. (The 1^st and 2^nd generations used lithium polymer batteries.) Apple states that the 60 GB and 30 GB iPods have battery lives of "up to 20 hours" and "up to 14 hours" respectively. Many users report average battery lives of less than 8 hours, for the 30 GB video iPod.13 March 2006 MP3 Insider: The truth about your battery life - Accessed 10 July 2006 In 2003, class action lawsuits were brought against Apple complaining that the battery charges lasted for shorter lengths of time than stated and that the battery degraded over time.February 2004: Apple investigates iPod batteries - BBC News It should be noted that lithium-ion batteries degrade by various amounts during their lifetime. Guidelines are available for maximizing playback timehttp://www.apple.com/batteries/ipods.html and prolonging life-span.

Non-replaceable batteries

The battery in all iPod models cannot be removed or replaced by the user without levering the unit open. This is unusually difficult for a consumer device, although some rival products have a similar enclosed battery. Compounding this problem, Apple initially would not replace worn-out batteries. The official policy was that the customer should buy a refurbished replacement iPod, at a cost almost equivalent to a brand new iPod. This situation led to a small market for third-party battery replacement kits.

Apple announced a battery replacement program on 14 November 2003, a week beforeiPod Battery FAQ (not affiliated with Apple) a high publicity stunt and website by the Neistat Brothers.September 2003: iPod's Dirty Secret - by the Neistat brothers The initial cost was US$99,14 November 2003: Apple offers iPod battery replacement service but has since been lowered to US$59. One week later Apple offered an extended iPod warranty for US$59.21 November 2003: AppleCare for iPod now available MacMinute Third-party companies offer cheaper battery replacement kits which often use higher capacity batteries. For the most recent iPods, soldering tools are needed because the battery is either soldered onto the main board, with the nano, or attached to a metal backplate, on the video iPod.Vivisection of the Video iPod

Bass response

The 3^rd generation iPod had a weak bass response, as shown in several audio tests.iPod audio measurements – by Bill Machrone for PC Magazine iPod audio measurements – by Marc Heijligers The combination of the undersized DC blocking capacitors and the typical low impedance of most consumer headphones, form a low-frequency rejection filter, which attenuates the low-frequency bass output by up to 10 dB. The same undersized capacitors are used in the 4^th and 5^th generation iPods,May 2006 iPod circuit design engineering – by Marc Heijligers but not in the iPod shuffle. The problem is reduced when using high impedance headphones.

Equalizer bass distortion

If the sound is enhanced with the iPod's software equalizer (EQ), many users (since 2002),DAPreview analyses the iPod's equalizerMacInTouch reader report of iPod sound distortion (July 2002) have noticed that some EQ settings – like R & B, Rock, Acoustic, and Bass Booster – can cause bass distortion too easily.

The equalizer amplifies the digital audio level beyond the software's maximum level, causing distortion (or clipping) on songs that have a bass drum or use a bassy instrument, even when the amplifier output level is very low. Notable examples include Bob Sinclar's Love GenerationBob Sinclair – "Love Generation" song link to the iTunes Music Store and Jem's Wish I.Jem – "Wish I" song link to the iTunes Music Store One possible workaround is to reduce the volume level of the recorded MP3, by modifying the audio files. However, this can take several hours with a large music collection, and it doesn't work with DRM-encrypted music. Also, different tools are needed for each different file format.

Alleged worker exploitation

On 11 June 2006, the British tabloid Mail on Sunday reported in a story that Apple's iPods are mainly made by female workers who earn no more than US$50 per month. The report stated that the five-story Longhua factory, which belongs to Foxconn, houses 200,000 workers, with most of them living in dormitories that house 100 people. Also, the report claimed that visitors are not permitted and that the plant is secured by police officers. These allegations are denied by Foxconn.http://www.appleinsider.com/article.php?id=1822 Apple launched an investigation into these claims which is still underway.http://www.appleinsider.com/article.php?id=1826

Patents and patent disputes

In 2005, Apple Computer faced two lawsuits claiming patent infringement by the iPod and its associated technologies:"Apple faces patent lawsuits over its iPod" ChannelRegister.co.uk, March 10, 2005 Advanced Audio Devices claimed the iPod breached their patent on a "music jukebox,"United States Patent 6,587,403 Advanced Audio Devices' "music jukebox" patent while Hong Kong-based IP portfolio company Pat-rights filed suit claiming that Apple's FairPlay technology breached a patentUnited States Patent 6,665,797 "Protection of software again against unauthorized use" (corrected to "Computer Apparatus/Software Access Control") issued to inventor Ho Keung Tse. The latter case also includes the online music stores of Sony, Real Networks, Napster, and Musicmatch as defendants."Apple, Sony among those named in new DRM lawsuit" AppleInsider, August 16, 2005.

Apple's application to the United States Patent and Trademark Office for a patent on "rotational user inputs,"United States patent application 20030095096 Apple's application on "rotational user inputs" as used in the iPod's interface, received a third "non-final rejection" (NFR) in August 2005. Also in August 2005, Creative Technology, one of Apple's main rivals in the MP3 player market, announced that it too held a patentUnited States Patent 6,928,433 Creative Technology's "Zen" patent on part of the music selection interface used by the iPod, which Creative dubbed the "Zen Patent," granted on August 9, 2005."Creative wins MP3 player patent" BBC News, 30 August 2005 On May 15, 2006, Creative filed suit against Apple for patent infringement with the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. The company also asked the United States International Trade Commission to investigate whether Apple was breaching U.S. trade laws by importing iPods into the United States."Creative sues Apple over patent" Macworld UK, 16 May 2006

Sales

At the Macworld Expo keynote speech on January 10, 2006, Apple CEO Steve Jobs reported sales of over 42 million iPods total, and 14 million in the first quarter of fiscal year 2006. This equates to 100 iPods sold every minute throughout the quarter.

Fortune magazine reported on June 27, 2005 that Apple had sold over 15 million iPods, including 5.3 million in the first quarter of that year. The iPod currently dominates the digital audio player market in the US, frequently topping best-seller lists. According to the latest financial statements, iPod's market share accounts for 74% in the US in July 2005. Within one year from January 2004 to January 2005, its US market share tremendously increased by 34% from 31% to 65%. This success was especially based on the introduction of the iPod mini, part of Apple's attempt to take market share from the mainstream Flash player market in the US. Flash players at the beginning of 2005 accounted for less than half the US market share that they did in 2004. (Their market share decreased from 62% in January 2004 to 29% in January 2005.) In other countries, the iPod market share is significantly lower, mostly due to high import taxes and less ubiquitous marketing, so flash memory players, or hard disk based players from competitors like Creative are dominant.

In its first quarter results of 2006, Apple reported earnings of US$565 million — its highest revenue in the company's history. Apple shipped 6.16 million iPods during the quarter that ended on June 25, 2005, a 616% increase over the same quarter in 2004. Most recently, Apple shipped 14.04 million iPods during the quarter that ended on December 31, 2005, a 207% increase over the same quarter one year prior.

On January 8, 2004, Hewlett-Packard announced that they would license the iPod from Apple to create an HP-branded digital audio player based on the iPod. The HP models were the same as the Apple iPod except for the inclusion of an "HP" logo on the back under the Apple logo and "iPod" label. They were sold as the "Apple iPod + hp". Retailers of this model included (among others) the retail giant Wal-Mart, which included a disclaimer explaining that it would not work with Wal-Mart's online music service. In July of 2005, HP reversed its decision and announced they would stop reselling the iPod by September 2005, when existing stock were projected to be depleted. Sales by Hewlett-Packard made up 5% of all iPod sales.

iPod sales according to Apple's yearly financial results:

Fiscal year	iPods sold
2002	381,000
2003	939,000
2004	4,416,000
2005	22,497,000
Total	28,233,000

iPod sales according to Apple's quarterly financial results:

Fiscal quarter	iPods sold
2002 Q4	140,000
2003 Q1	219,000
2003 Q2	80,000
2003 Q3	304,000
2003 Q4	336,000
2004 Q1	733,000
2004 Q2	807,000
2004 Q3	860,000
2004 Q4	2,016,000
2005 Q1	4,580,000
2005 Q2	5,311,000
2005 Q3	6,155,000
2005 Q4	6,451,000
2006 Q1	14,043,000
2006 Q2	8,526,000
Total	50,801,000

Accessories

The large accessories market that has built up around the iPod is sometimes described as the iPod ecosystem. A host of different companies produce accessories that are designed to work with the iPod. Companies such as JBL, Bose, Altec Lansing, and Kensington all make speakers that are designed specifically to work with the iPod, using the iPod's Dock Connector. Other companies, such as Griffin Technology and Monster Cable, make add-ons that allow the iPod to record sound, recharge "on the go," play music over the radio, or be used wirelessly with a remote.

Besides technological peripherals there are also cases. iPod owners buy these accessories not only to protect their iPods but also to make fashion statements. Cases are available from many third party companies, but Apple also makes some cases. Along with the introduction of the nano, Apple introduced nano tubes (a pun on nanotubes), a silicone case with no screen, Dock Connector, or headphone port protection, but a cover over the Click Wheel and the hold switch. Accessories for the iPod have also been added to the skiing and snowboarding industry. Burton developed a jacket and a backpack with Softouch. This is a panel on a jacket sleeve or on a backpack strap that allows the user to control his song selection from that panel. It makes use of the iPod outdoors safer and much more convenient.

At Macworld Expo 2006, Steve Jobs introduced a new wired remote control for the 5^th generation iPod and iPod nano. Named "iPod radio remote," it uses an iPod shuffle-like interface to control these iPods. It also adds radio tuning capability, with station details being displayed on the iPod screen. Support for this accessory was added in iPod firmware 1.1. The remote is connected via the iPod Dock Connector (as the remote port seen on previous iPods is not included on the 5^th generation iPod or iPod nano), and also includes a shorter pair of white headphones to reduce clutter.

iPod A/V cable and alternatives

The headphone connector on the 5^th generation iPod (iPod with video) accepts an Apple-branded A/V cable with RCA connectors for composite video and stereo analog audio. Apple sells this compatible cable for US$19. In what is seen as an attempt to force users to purchase the costly cable, (this is actually due to concerns about the iPod's compatibility with all standard 3.5 mm audio jacks) Apple deviates from standard A/V cables by swapping the composite video connector (usually yellow) and right channel audio connector (usually red). Users attempting to connect a conventional mini A/V cable will only see corrupted video and right audio because the equipment will attempt to render the audio stream as video and vice versa. This is simple to bypass by swapping the RCA connector ends appropriately on the video input device.

iPod Camera Connector

The iPod Camera Connector allows the transfer of digital photo files from a digital camera or media card reader to a full-size color screen iPod using a small adapter attached to the dock connector.

iPod Hi-Fi

At Apple's "Fun Products" Day (February 28, 2006), Steve Jobs announced the iPod Hi-Fi for immediate sale at the price of US$349.http://gear.ign.com/articles/692/692454p1.html The iPod Hi-Fi is an amplified loudspeaker system that docks with the iPod. The dimensions of the Hi-Fi are 17 x 6.6 x 6.9 inches. The unit can either be plugged into the wall or run on six D-cell batteries. The Hi-Fi weighs slightly under 17 pounds. Integrated carrying handles allow for easier transportation of the Hi-Fi. The Hi-Fi utilizes two 80 mm wide-range cones and one 130 mm woofer cone.

Car integration and accessories

BMW released the first iPod automobile interface to come from an automotive company.http://www.ipodyourbmw.com/ The interface allowed drivers of late-model BMW vehicles to control their iPod through the built-in steering wheel controls and the radio head unit buttons. The iPod attached to a cable harness in the car's glove compartment and allowed the driver to create up to five unique "BMW playlists" that were displayed through the vehicle's radio head unit.

Apple announced at Macworld Expo in January 2005 that Mercedes-Benz USA, Volvo, Nissan, Alfa Romeo, and Ferrari would offer similar systems.

Apple announced in September 2005 that they now have deals with Acura, Audi, Honda, and Volkswagen to integrate iPod into their car stereos during the year. With these deals Apple now has 15 car companies worldwide planning to offer iPod integration. More than thirty percent of the cars in the United States now include iPod support. Honda will be the first to include speech-to-text capabilities that allow drivers to search for playlists, artist and album names, or genre.http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/News/articledId=107194

Using adaptor kits, an iPod can be thus integrated into many vehicles which do not otherwise allow it. Almost any vehicle that has a factory CD changer controller port on the stereo can be integrated with an iPod using this kit. Adaptation, though not integration, can be obtained through the use of a cassette adaptor plugged into a vehicle cassette deck. This allows the vehicle to play the iPod's music, but not to control the iPod directly, such as the above mentioned methods allow. Finally, any after-market car stereo with RCA inputs can play the audio from an iPod by use of a "Y-adapter" that connects the RCA inputs on the stereo to the 1/8th inch stereo headset jack on the iPod.

Another common method of adaptation to a car can be achieved by using an FM transmitter, such as the iTrip. These allow the player to broadcast an FM signal, playable by car radios. Some FM transmitters also integrate charging from a car's cigarette lighter or power outlet. In some countries, these transmitters have fallen foul of official broadcast regulations and have been removed from the shelves.

Many aftermarket stereo manufacturers including Pioneer, Kenwood, and Alpine have iPod integration solutions to allow one of their head units to control and play music from an iPod.

Advertising

Wrap advertising light rail.jpg ]] Apple has promoted the iPod and iTunes brands in several successful advertising campaigns, a large number of which are part of their series of silhouette commercials. The first iPod ad, featuring the tagline "A thousand songs, in your pocket" was launched alongside iPod in November 2001. The ad can be viewed on Apple's web site.Beat. The first iPod television ad.

In April 2003, Apple introduced a new ad campaign in conjunction with the launch of the iTunes Music Store. The ads featured informally dressed persons wearing iPods and giving animated silent renditions of popular songs, accompanied by dancing, air guitar, and other performances. The commercials featured a wide range of music, including The Who's My Generation, Sir Mix-a-lot's Baby Got Back, The Caesars' Jerk It Out, Pink's There You Go, and Eminem's Lose Yourself.

In October 2003, Apple released their first TV commercial of the silhouette campaign, which had already been featured for some time in print. It featured silhouettes dancing to music while listening to iPods. These commercials featured popular songs, such as The Vines' Ride, The Caesars' Jerk it Out, Gorillaz' Feel Good Inc., Steriogram's Walkie-Talkie Man, Jet's Are You Gonna Be My Girl, Propellerheads' Take California, Ozomatli's Saturday Night, N*E*R*D's Rock Star (Jason Nevin's Mix), Franz Ferdinand's Take Me Out, Daft Punk's Technologic, and many more. To commemorate the launch of the U2 iPod, Apple released an ad featuring a music video of Vertigo (featuring the band as characteristic iPod silhouettes).Jim Dalrymple. "New iPod ads feature U2." (2004-10-12) Macworld. Accessed on August 22, 2005.

The iPod shuffle was released alongside TV commercials featuring silhouettes dancing on a green background with Apple's shuffle symbol moving underneath them, showing their intent on incorporating their silhouette campaign with each of their products. At the release of the iPod nano, a commercial was aired depicting pairs of hands turning over and examining the device, emphasizing its small size, and fighting over it.

With the release of iPod with video, a new commercial was released showing the new iPod's video playing capabilities. The ad featured U2's Original of the Species from the Live From Chicago DVD. Two more ads were released featuring Eminem and Wynton Marsalis. Although the ad still featured the silhouettes, the backgrounds were more textured and had patterns or identifiable backgrounds as opposed to the flat colours used previously - to an orange 'urban' theme in the Eminem version, and a 'cool' blue jazz look to the Wynton Marsalis variant.

On March 17, 2006, Apple released another new iPod ad. This ad departed from the traditional silhouette style, and featured thousands of CD covers pouring into an iPod nano. The ad again uses the tagline "1,000 Songs in Your Pocket," in reference to the original iPod launch ads. This commercial features the song Cubicle by the French electro rock band Rinôçérôse.http://www.apple.com/ipod/ads/ However, Apple has not entirely abandoned the distinctive dancing silhouettes and they can still be seen on the company's website.

References

Notes

External links

Apple iPod — Official website
Apple iPod Specs/Comparison — Official website (Specs)
Inside Look at Birth of the iPod
Apple's 21st-Century Walkman — Brent Schlender writing for Fortune October 30, 2001
iPod Nation — Steven Levy writing for Newsweek July 26, 2004
Behind the Music — Ken Aaron writing for Cornell Engineering 2005
iPods may contribute to hearing loss, UW scientists say The Daily Cardinal

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