The Apple iPod recently celebrated its 10th birthday, and after a decade of being on the market, the iPod line is still going strong. The fact that it is far and away the best selling MP3 player of all time is proof that no other device has been able to match its design, intuitive controls and ease of use.
On Oct. 23, 2001, the late Steve Jobs declared, "With iPod, Apple has invented a whole new category of digital music player that lets you put your entire music collection in your pocket and listen to it wherever you go. With iPod, listening to music will never be the same again." As was often the case, Jobs was more correct than anybody could have imagined.
The iPod was the first of numerous 'iDevices' Apple has launched during the past few years. Every gadget Apple has made which has been influenced by the iPod has received rave reviews and critical acclaim. The influence of the device can easily be seen in the design of the iPhone, iPad and the multiple types of iPods currently on the market.
The massive success of the iPod changed the fate of Apple. Before its introduction, Apple was known for the Mac line of computers. Now, it's questionable whether the Mac or the iPod has better brand recognition. The Macintosh operating system has been growing in popularity in recent years, and it's probable that the increasing market shares are thanks to the immense success of the iPod. As Macworld.com puts it, the iPod has a "halo effect" on the Macintosh operating system and other Apple products, wherein people purchase other Apple products because they have had such a positive experience with the iPod.
One of the iPod's greatest effects was that it forced people to become comfortable with digital music. In the early 2000s, before iPods and other electronic music devices became widespread, most people purchased whole albums on CDs at local electronics stores. iTunes, which was the first online music store to break into the mainstream, owes its early success to its close integration with the iPod. To this day, the only supported way to sync music, photos, videos, apps, podcasts and other content to an iDevice is by using iTunes. The application also changed the dynamics of how music is bought and sold by allowing consumers to purchase just the songs they want instead of entire albums.
The iPod has also created entirely new industries. The mobile app was born from the introduction of the iPhone and iPod touch. The thousands of individuals and companies who now make a living from developing and selling apps in the Apple App Store owe a debt of gratitude to Steve Jobs and the iPod team.
Whether the stand-alone iPod has a future now that media-playing functionality is being built into other Apple gadgets like the iPhone and iPad is debatable. Even if Apple no longer sells it after another decade, the effects of the device on the music and consumer electronic industries will always be remembered.
David Rabinowitz is a third-year College student. He can be reached at dlr7sh@virginia.edu.
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