Ipod history: From 2001 to present
MP3 players were a rave at the turn of this century but it only began the quest for a better quality, high-capacity player that would become the iPod. This was exactly what Tony Fadell had in mind a few years before iPod was born. The iPod history is a marvelous journey of victories and digital improvements.
When Tony Fadell finally won the nod of Apple associates for his project, it was perhaps the most instrumental event in all of the iPod history. The inception of a digital music device that can hold a thousand songs without having to carry a load of CDs and CD player is a dream come true for hundreds of millions of people who benefit by having music at their sides.
Pre-iPod history began when Apple released iTunes, a program that enables users to convert CD quality sound into compressed digital audio files, keep music collections organized, and play Internet radio.
The momentous day of the iPod history was October 23, 2001 when Apple publicly announced the birth of their new baby, the iPod which was different from MP3 players in many respects. For one, iPod uses a hard disk storage system instead of interchangeable CD-ROMs or flash memory. Apple wanted iPod to focus on small size, great power, and easy, user-friendly controls.
The original iPod featured a 5GB storage capacity that can hold up to 1,000 songs, sold at a retail value of $399, and worked only with Mac PCs. It was November 10, 2001 that Apple ships the first iPod units to the market. It was an exciting feat for Apple which sold around 125,000 units by the end of the year of its release.
On March 20, 2002, Apple announces the release of an updated 10GB, 2,000-song capacity iPod. The updated version additionally had new features including the ability to display information in a business-card like manner.
Since that date in the iPod history, Apple has not ceased to give updates on current iPod units, such as by improving storage capacity, enhancing software interface, as well as lowering price to rise up against competition from other companies that are making iPod-like devices.
In January 2004, during the Macworld Expo, key executives announced a number of revisions which were mostly price breaks. It wasn't until 15 minutes before the end of the Expo that Apple introduced a new baby in the iPod product line - the iPod mini, which had 4GB capacity and cost $249.
Fourth generation iPod units were released in the market in2004. In 2005, iPod history became as colorful for all iPod enthusiasts with the addition of flash memory, video support, tiny screens, OS X, and touch technology.
A glorious beginning for the iPod history meets with a sterling future of digital improvements and much lower prices.
