The ubiquitous iPod

The quest for the perfect portable music gadget has come full circle with the introduction of the iPod. Apple Inc. practically pushed walkmans and discmans to the brink of extinction when they released the first generation of iPods in 2001.

The iPod is a portable music gadget that basically stores media, music or video, on an internal hard drive. However, there are models that use the flash memory to allow for a physically smaller device. And like all popular technology, the iPod has evolved into different models to suit market demands. From the first generational iPod Classic, Apple Inc. has also released the touch screen iPod Touch, the iPod Nano, capable of video gaming, and the iPod Shuffle. The differences between these models lie in the features they offer, their data capacity, and of course, their price.

And there is of course the accompanying software for the iPod called iTunes. iTunes is a software for iPod users primarily created to help them manage the contents of their iPod on their desktops or laptops. In addition, by using iTunes, iPod users can download or purchase music or videos from Apple Inc.'s site dedicated to them. Enhancements to iTunes are continually being developed by its creators, as newer features are regularly added to meet the improvements done on the iPod.

The popularity of the iPod has been so unprecedented that according to statistics released on September 2008, more than 170,000,000 units have been sold worldwide making it the biggest selling digital audio player of all time. Not to mention the multitude of accessories that have been spawned from the iPod like the iPod speakers and the iPod pouches.

Mel writes about iPods , laptops and other related topics.