IPod
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2 Dockable iPods 3 Battery Life 4 iTunes Music Store 5 Third-party Accessories 6 See also 7 External links |
2nd Generation iPod
First announced in October 2001 [1], the iPod was originally available with a 5GB hard drive. A 10GB version was announced in March 2002, and a 20GB version in July.
Firmware upgrades have added some PDA functions. Some of the iPod software was developed by Pixo, a company founded by two of the developers that had worked on the Apple Newton, a Personal Digital Assistant produced by Apple Computer.
The iPod was originally only compatible with Macintosh computers, but as of mid-2002, Apple Computer has also begun selling a Windows version, formatted to FAT32 instead of HFS+. The newest generation of dockable iPod remove this distinction; only one version of the iPod is sold, and the user formats the iPod for either Windows or Macintosh after the purchase. Third-party products also exist to allow the use of Mac-formatted iPods with Windows computers. Due to this change, the popular player iTunes was also ported to Windows.
On April 28, 2003, Steve Jobs introduced an "ultrathin" iPod series, which introduced a non-mechanical touch-sensitive scroll wheel and other upgrades. These were originally sold in 10, 15, and 30 GB versions. In September 2003 this line was replaced by 10, 20 and 40GB versions, and then 15, 20, and 40 GB versions in January 2004. In January 2004 Apple introduced a smaller variation, the iPod mini, with 4 GB of storage, while also increasing the storage of the "low-end" version from 10 to 15GB.
Unlike first and second generation iPods, there is no distinction between third-generation Mac and Windows iPods; one product can be connected to either a Mac or a Windows PC. In the latter case, the user needs to buy an extra USB2 cable, add a FireWire port, or use the included 4-pin FireWire adapter, as the FireWire connection the iPod uses is standard on Macs but somewhat uncommon in Windows PCs, especially older models.
iTunes is used to manage files on the iPod when connected to a Mac or Windows PC. Previously, Musicmatch, ephPod or XPlay was used to manage files on the iPod when connected to a Windows PC. Newer iPod accessories include a memory card reader and a voice recording module, both manufactured by Belkin and officially licensed by Apple Computer.
On January 8, 2004, Hewlett-Packard announced that they would license the iPod from Apple to create an HP-branded MP3 player. The following day, Hewlett-Packard chairman and CEO, Carly Fiorina unveiled the new, blue iPod-based device at the 2004 Consumer Electronics Show.
In December 2003, film-makers and Apple enthusiasts The Neistat Brothers produced a movie highlighting that the battery in their early-model iPod failed after what they thought was a relatively short period of time, and was expensive to replace, and distributed it over the internet. The movie depicted the Brothers vandalizing Apple ads in the New York City area with graffitti proclaiming 'iPod's unreplaceable battery lasts only 18 months." Shortly following this, though not necessarily in response to it, Apple Computer introduced a battery replacement scheme and offered users the option to extend the warranty of their iPods.
Apple's iTunes Music Store only supports the iPod. The restriction is largely seen by experts as the way to drive the sale of iPod. It is possible to circumvent this restriction by reencoding protected files into another format, although this is tedious and causes a reduction in sound quality.
Original iPod
Dockable iPods
Battery Life
iTunes Music Store
Third-party Accessories
See also
External links