Apple iPods: The Master Media Player

IPods, the new brand of portable media players designed and marketed by Apple was launched in October 2001. Apple iPod classic models are capable of storing media on an internal hard drive which also act as external data storage devices.]

The iTunes software from Apple is capable of transfering music to the devices. As a jukebox application, a music library is stored on the user's computer by Apple iPod that can play, burn, and rip music from a CD. It is also capable of transferring photos, videos, games, and calendars to those iPod models that support them. Apple mainly focuses its development on the iPods unique user interface and its ease of use, more than on technical capability. Apple iPod tasted a record success in the music market by making a sale of 110 million units worldwide on September 2007 making it the best-selling digital audio player series in history.

IPod was a result of Apple's digital hub strategy. It was while creating a software for the digital devices like digital cameras, camcorders and organizers, the company found existing digital music players "big and clunky or small and useless" with user interfaces that were "unbelievably awful. Apple then decided to develop a media player that can substitute the existing music players bringing a new color and vigor into it. It took less than a year for Apple Inc. to develop such a product and it was unveiled on October 23, 2001. The caption put forward by Apple Inc. was "1000 songs in your pocket," which was accepted widely by the market.

It was Vinnie Chieco , freelance copywriter, who christened the gadget as iPod, who was called by Apple to figure out how to introduce the new player to the public. The first iPod kiosks were demonstrated to the public in New Jersey in March 1998, rest of which is a history.