We all know the ipod to be the most popular portable media device in the world. First seen in 2001 the original model had 5 gig of memory and was only compatible with mp3 files but at the time, 5 gig of memory was the most anyone had every seen in an mp3 player so it was a monumental success.
There have been five re-releases of the classic version and it is therefore now in its sixth generation. When you read the specifications of the newest model you can see how far the ipod has come since its original release.
The latest version is compatible with pretty much any file format as well as being able to play videos, images and games. You can put pretty much anything on it and use it as a portable hard drive and with 80 to 160 gig models available, you literally put anything on it.
There have been different models of the ipod released like the ipod mini. Although this was only in production for a few years because the nano model followed it which basically had the same key features of the mini and had larger memory capacity. The ipod mini was however the first one that was available in multi-colours rather than just black or white and was generally cheaper than the classic model but it depended on what size memory you wanted.
Then there was the ipod shuffle, which was essentially a cheap version without the screen. The shuffle is a much simpler version and only plays songs. The lack of a display screen means that they are far cheaper to manufacture and therefore far cheaper to buy.
The most recent addition the ipod family is the ipod touch. This version has a full length touch screen and looks fairly similar to the iphone. It has huge storage capabilities and some have even said (slightly falsely, although I can see where theyre coming from) that the only difference between the ipod touch and the iphone is that you cant make phone calls on the ipod touch.
Over the last eight or so years weve seen the ipod evolve to heights that werent thought possible when it was first released. With over 173,000,000 sold world wide it is the most popular portable media device on the market, and arguable the best.