Apple Ipod Creations

Apple IPod Creations

Apple emerged in the 1970's when two ambitious friends, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, released the Apple I desktop. No, I am not talking about fruit! Apple started small with the aforementioned bulky and unreliable Apple I desktop but later moved onto bigger and better products. In 1977 the Apple II was released, later to be known as the times most successful personal computer. Unfortunately, it soon was overtaken by IBM's recently released PC. It wasn't until 1986 when Apple launched the Macintosh computer with its built in screen and mouse and click user interface that things started to really look up. Competitors reached for the limits of the sky trying to outdo Apple and their new capabilities. They almost succeeded in 1995 when Apple nearly sunk but, Apple prevailed once again when Power Mac G5, Imacs, and Ibooks were launched. Still with all of the new technology being thrown into the market in such a short amount of time Apple was only a small time competitor in the world of computers. That is until Apple took the idea of a portable music device invented in 1987, perfected it, and released the IPod in 2001 (Barrile 2006). The IPod is a portable, easy to use, cost effective music player that has revolutionized the music and computer industry with its technology capabilities. Although it may sound as if IPod means one, there are four different types of the IPod. These four styles are known as the IPod Shuffle, IPod Nano, IPod Classic, and the IPod Touch. The IPod comes in many shapes and sizes as previously mentioned so choosing one can become a difficult task without the correct information; each comes with its own standards for storage capacity, portability, ease of use and cost, careful evaluation of these traits will serve as a guide in the right direction for this decision.

Each IPod allows for a different amount of storage of music and some with the option of a certain amount of video storage. The IPod Shuffle is available in 2GB (Gigabytes), with the capacity to hold 500 four minute songs, and 4GB, with the capacity to hold 1000 four minute songs. The IPod Nano is available in 8GB capacity, which can hold up to 2000 four minute songs or up to eights hours of video. The 16GB Nano has the capacity to hold up to 4000 four minute songs or up to 16 hours of video. The IPod Classic comes equipped with a 160GB storage capacity, which can hold up to 40,000 four minute songs or up to 200 hours of video. The IPod Touch is Apple's newest addition to the IPod family. The Touch comes in 8GB, 32GB, and 64GB capacities. The 8GB holds 1750 four minute songs or 40 hours of video. The 16GB holds 7000 songs or 40 two hour movies while the 64GB holds 14000 songs or 80 hours of video. Ultimately the most storage isn't necessarily the right choice for everyone. I own an IPod Classic and for my needs of listening to music while I am driving or walking to class it hold more than enough music.

With every person having a different lifestyle, portability and ease of use can mean so many things. The following will evaluate the different attributes each IPod come equipped with and some negative qualities they posses. Weighing next to nothing, a little bigger than and twice as thick as a piece of Dentyne gum the Shuffle won't get in the way during use. With the capability to clip directly onto clothing the Shuffle is extremely portable and great for vigorous workouts (Breen 2009). A downside for some people is the Shuffle's lack of controls (Breen 2009). Being able to navigate through your music with ease is not the best attribute of the Shuffle due to lack of digital screen. Navigation requires pushing buttons that are integrated into a specific type of headphones. Stuffed into the Nano's 2.2 inch (diagonally measured) digital screen are the capabilities to record audio, record video, buffer FM radio, count your steps with a pedometer, hold contacts and calendars, and play games. Being able to carry all of the aforementioned capabilities at once with a single device of the Nano's size screams portability. Watching hours of videos on the tiny screen that accompanies the Nano may prove difficult, especially one with subtitles, for some people. Although the Nano has the capability to record video, the quality