Since 2001 they have served us, being very reliable and quite stylish; the iPod. When released in 2001 the skepticism over the whole concept was widespread. People were rather confused about the whole iPod idea; what the hell is this thing, where do I get my music from, and why is it so expensive? They were few and far between, everyone who had one at first was an Apple-ite.
However, people started to see the pluses to having a music player that could hold thousands of songs. After all, you just had to plug the thing into the computer and the songs would be transferred automatically, no hassle.
For the first year (about) the device only worked with Apple's own computers. Soon after the realization hit that the iPod was starting to take off Apple announced iTunes for Windows. With this announcement came the huge wave of screams from the true Apple-ites. "Why would Apple open themselves up to the Windows community?" or "Nooo, Steve betrayed us." But in reality it was a great move for Apple; after all they opened their product up to over 90% of the market share. Because of this move Apple now has more than 80% of the MP3 Player market.
Since that day in 2001 over six different versions of the iPod have been released. First came the 2nd Generation iPod, which came out about a year after the first, next came the 3rd Generation which came with buttons above the clickwheel, which actually was just a touchwheel; it didn't physically move like the others. In early 2004 the iPod Mini came out, in a variety of colors. Next up was the 4th Generation iPod, complete with the Menu, Forward/Backward, and Play/Pause buttons integrated into the clickwheel. Soon after the iPod Shuffle was released and the iPod Minis received a update. Along with the new iPod Minis came the iPod Photos; basically an iPod 4th Generation with a color screen. In mid-2005 the iPod nano was released, along with the iPod with Video.
As you can see the iPods are rolling along, still the most popular electronic on the market. Why wouldn't they be? You can get one for a measly seventy bucks. Everywhere I look when I walk down the street in Chicago there are the famous white earbuds; people jamming to their music, oblivious to the world around them. Can't say I blame them, Chicago is a pretty boring commute if you are alone.
But wait, Apple isn't stupid. I have spent over a hundred bucks in the iTunes Music Store, when I could easily get the song on BitTorrent for free. Why do I spend all that money? Ease of use, why spend the time to find it and hope it isn't corrupted when I can just search for it in iTunes and get it for a cheap 99 cents? That is the answer, Apple isn't dumb they have us roped in. Buy our player, buy our music; simple as that. Pretty damn smart if you ask me.
Next up is the future of iPods. As I am writing this there are pictures floating around the net of the next video iPod; made specifically for video. It is pretty cool looking, but the scratches and fingerprints would kill me. After all, I am pretty happy with the iPod I have: an iPod 4th Generation without a color screen. However, if a true video iPod did come out, you might see my in my local Apple Store with some change and the hope I can persuade one of my friends there to give me a discount.
So we discussed the past, the present, and the future. What do you think? I want to know what you think the next iPod will be and what you think it will look like. Leave your ideas in the comments.