Evolution of the iPod

Because there was only one iPod available at the beginning of this very successful and long lasting “iPod phase,” it was obviously very easy for the buyer to choose which iPod to buy. Since the time that the 1st generation iPod was released in 2001, Apple has successfully come out with new iPods each year through 2010. The iPods differ in many ways from storage and battery life to mobile Wi-Fi and camera capability. Looking at each year, it is very interesting to see the evolution of the 1st generation 2001 iPod into the most recent 2010 iPod.

2001: This 1st generation iPod was Apple's first MP3 with 10 hours of battery life. It was appealing to buyers because of the design and storage. Although there were other MP3s available at the time, the iPod stood out because of its new design with a scroll wheel and storage capacity of up to 10 GB. Its catchy slogan was, “1,000 songs in your pocket.” This iPod was only Mac compatible.

2002 and 2003: The 2nd generation iPod was released with a few upgrades. It now had 20 GB capacities, and was Windows compatible. The appearance of the iPods was the same except for replacement of the mechanical scroll wheel with a touch-sensitive scroll wheel. 2003 marked the release of the 3rd generation iPod, which had a sleeker design and storage up to 40 GB.

2004: Apple’s creativity was seen through their 2004 releases. Along with upgrading to the 4th generation iPod, which now had 12 hours of battery life, Apple introduced iPod Mini an iPodPhoto. Mini had different model colors instead of the standard white, and was very small. Photo could store up to 60 GB of music and photos, 15-hour battery life, and it now had a color screen.

2005: iPod Shuffle and iPod Nano were introduced. Shuffle was such a hit because of the inexpensive price. It did not have a screen, but still had the USB drive and control buttons. The Nano took the place of the Mini because it was small, but also because it had a color screen that the Mini did not have. Color and 5th generation were also improved with more memory and longer battery life. 5th generation now supported video, and took on a much slimmer design.

2006: Apple produced upgraded versions of iPod, Shuffle, and Nano. Each had software updates and extended battery life. Nano was given color options other than black and white, while Shuffle decreased its size and also added colors.

2007: The introduction of the iPod Touch, new Nanos, and Classic. The best way to explain the Touch is an iPhone without the phone. Touch lost the touch-wheel that the other iPods had, and instead gained a touch screen that was the entire front of the iPod. The Classic was the 6th generation iPod, which now was made with aluminum. The battery life of each new iPod was increased to at least 20 hours.

2008 and 2009: Classic, Nano, and Touch were all upgraded in 2008 and 2009. Classic v2 now had 160 GB of storage and 36 hours of battery life. Nano evolved by now having a larger screen, FM radio capability, and the ability to record video. Touch was not modified much, but it did have some software upgrades and went up to 30 hours of b

attery life.

2010: Shuffle, Nano, and Touch each upgraded during 2010. Shuffle 4th generation now had 2 GB of storage and 15 hours of battery life. It went back to its small square shape. Nano 6th generation took on a completely new design: square shape with screen covering the face of it. Touch 4th generation obtained a front and back facing camera, 40 audio hours of battery life, and 64 GB.

iPods from 2001 to 2010 went from having storage of 5 GB to 160 GB, battery life of 10 hours to 40 hours, and the ability of only playing music to now having the ability to video chat over Wi-Fi. The evolution of the iPod is an ongoing process, and it will be interesting to see what Apple will introduce to us next with iPods!

Some of this information came from:

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2037089,00.asp

http://gear.ign.com/articles/107/1078271p1.html