A decade of iPod

Ten years ago, Apple released the first iPod to an unsuspecting public. It only took a decade for the iPod to become the world’s number one media player and this week, the iPod celebrates ten years on top.

Despite mixed reactions for Apple products, it is hard to deny the cold hard facts. Over 300-million iPods have been sold worldwide, with rivals such as the Zune, Sony Walkman and the multiple SanDisk players unable to knock the champion off the charts. Proof of its success shows in its design. To this day, the current 160GB iPod remains largely unchanged from its 2008 iteration.

While the iPod recently saw a 27% drop in sales, Tim Cook was quick to point out that this was due to customers jumping onto the iPhone 4S pre-order sales bandwagon. Cook also said that half of all new iPod sales are going to first time buyers, so it’s plain to see that despite iPod’s decade-long legacy, it remains an instinctive purchase.

The iPod helped to popularise the sale of downloadable content with the iTunes software. Without iTunes, would the iPod have sold as well? Tying hardware into software at such as base level may have been a risk for Apple, but it paid off. Over 10-billion songs have been purchased on both Mac and Windows platforms.

By 2007, the iPod had migrated to a touchscreen model. The iPhone was the basis for this move to a click-wheel free environment and for users who had no need for a GSM phone, the iPod Touch became the ideal vehicle for their musical expression.

The downloadable apps, another holdover from the iPhone became a staple of the iPod environment. Combined with free software updates which continued to upgrade the functionality of the iPod Touch, this ensured the iPod’s continued relevance.

Cloud storage, high-res gaming and an intuitive interface continue to cement the iPod as the number one media player worldwide. The question is, where next can the iPod venture?