iPod Nano: Apple's Music Player Dynasty Continues
Apple's newest entry in the red-hot mp3 player market is the iPod Nano. At a
hair over a quarter inch thick and only 1.5 oz., the Nano is poised to be
another winner in the iPod line. Building on the success of the iPod Shuffle,
the flash memory Nano will hold up to four times as much music.
The 2GB Nano holds 500 songs and the 4GB version up to 1,000. And unlike the
Shuffle, it will hold up to 25,000 photos for display on its 1.5 inch LCD color
screen. The Nano's improved Li-ion battery
will play up to 14 hours of music or a 4 hour slideshow with music on a single
charge.
iPod's Short History
The first iPod was introduced in October 2001. Second,
third and fourth generations followed in 2002, 2003 and 2004. The
slightly smaller iPod Mini also debuted in 2004. Both the
iPod and iPod Mini feature micro-drive memories. The largest of these will
hold 60GB, or up to 10,000 songs.
The pack-of-gum
sized iPod Shuffle was unveiled in January 2005. The Shuffle was Apple's first solid-state
flash memory player for music only. The 512MB Shuffle holds up to 120 songs and the 1GB
version up to 240. With no moving parts, both the Shuffle and Nano are 100% skip
free.
Music Player, Songs and Accessory Sales Explode
By mid-2005 more than 15 million iPods had been sold, and year over year
sales were up more than 600%. In April 2003 Apple opened its online iTunes Music
Store. In spite of the fact that downloaded songs can only be played on iPods,
more than 500 million tunes were sold in the first two years.
An entire industry of iPod accessories adds to the mp3 phenomenon. Besides
Apple, dozens of other companies offer an incredible array of player add-ons.
Plug-in devices allow us to listen to music saved on our player through a home
stereo, car radio, or powerful portable speakers. Just about anything
imaginable is available, including designer carrying cases, high-tech
headphones, Bluetooth wireless, multi-purpose docking stations and much more.
Now accounting for nearly 40% of revenues, Apple must be very happy with the
iPod line.
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