Types of iPods

IPod is a brand of portable media players. It was designed and marketed by Apple; they launched it on October 23, 2001.

Since then a lot of versions and derivate models of iPod have been introduced. Today we have the possibility to choose one of the numerous models as there are five generations of iPods.

In addition to playing music, iPods with display screens can display calendars, contact information, and text files. Models released after 2004 have the ability to display photos and play videos (fifth-generation iPod, 2005). Since October 2004, iPod has dominated the market for digital music players in the United States.

In January 2007, Apple announced the iPhone. It will combine the functions of a video-capable iPod and an integrated mobile phone with Internet capabilities. This was a great event that promises a real headache for some cell phone producers.

Apple elaborated a software application, designed especially for iPods -iTunes. It acts like iPod's interface playing and organizing digital music and video files. The iTunes software assures connection to the iTunes Store, which enables the user to download purchased digital music, music videos, television shows, iPod games, various podcasts, and feature length films.

Lets try to get into details and distinguish certain types of iPod:

1.The iPod mini.

General notes: It is a miniature version of the first iPod. It was released on February 20, 2004 and had a great success. This hard-drive based player fits Macintosh and Windows software and also has some limited support for Linux and other Unix operational systems.

The second generation of iPod mini line was officially released on September 7, 2005. This one was less successful and a little bit latter it was replaced by iPod nano. Both generations were actually improvements of their predecessors.

Key Features: Both of iPod mini generations are equipped with monochrome displays and anodized aluminum cases. The later generations of iPods adopted color displays.

IPod mini has the following sizes: 91x51x13 mm (3.6x2.0x0.5 inches). They weight 102 grams (3.6 ounces). iPod mini supports the following audio formats: MP3, AAC/M4A, WAV, and AIFF.

IPod mini retained so called click wheel (which actually is used for the third, forth, fifth iPod generations and both iPod nano generations). There is a significant discrepancy between the 1st and the 2nd generations of iPod mini. They differed mainly by their storage and battery capacities.

If talking about hard drive then iPod mini features a Compact Flash Microdrive made by Hitachi. The capacity of the 1st generation reached 4 GB; whereas the 2nd generation models were available in both 4 GB and 6 GB versions. The battery of 1st generation iPod lasts for 8 hours, whereas the 2nd generation one works up to 18 hours.

2.iPod nano.

General notes: There are two generations of iPod nano. The first was released in September 2005, and the second was launched in a year, in September, 2006. They do differ from other models as they store media on a flash memory device instead of an internal hard drive.

Key Features: iPod nano is much smaller than its predecessors. It has a solid-state construction (with no moving parts beside the click wheel). It measures: 3.5 inches (90 mm) in length, 1.6 inches (40 mm) in width, and 0.27 inches (6.9 mm) in height. The weight is about 1.5 ounces (42 grams).

The color display features 176 x 132 pixels and 1.5 inches (38 mm) diagonal. Second-generation screens are almost twice brighter. The battery life goes up to 14 hours (for the first generation). The second-generation iPod nano's battery works from 14 to 24 hours. 1st generation iPod nano is available in 2 Gb and 4 Gb; whereas the second generation has 2, 4 and 8 Gb versions.

iPod nano has some unique functions. These are: a stop watch and a multiple time zone clock; a lock function that restricts access to the user's calendar and contact information. It can as well view pictures and make slide shows.

3.iPod Shuffle.

General notes: It is a portable audio player with no click wheel (unlike the other Apple's generations of iPods). The first generation of iPod Shuffle was released on January 11, 2005; the second generation appeared within less than a year September 12, 2006.

It is operated with the main four buttons. They are Play/Pause, Next Song/Fast Forward, Previous Song/Fast Reverse, and up and down volume adjustment.

The player stores the data on a flash memory. iPod Shuffle is plugged directly into a computer's USB port ( 1.1 or 2.0).

The iPod shuffle was designed to play the loaded music in random order, which actually matched the motto it appeared with - “life's random”.

As iPod Shuffle plugs directly into USB port, many people use it as USB flash drive.
Key Features: iPod Shuffle is extremely small matching a chewing gum. The first generation iPod shuffle weighs about 20 grams (0.73 ounces); the second generation model weighs around 15 grams (0.55 ounces). The latter generation is two times smaller than its 'elder brother' measuring: 41.2 x 27.3 x 10.5 mm (1.62 x 1.07 x 0.41 in).

The player lacks most of common iPod features. Thus it has no scroll wheel, display, address book, calendar and notes functions. Unlike the 1st generation iPod shuffle, the 2nd generation model lacks a built-in USB connector, which means the dock is required for connection to a computer.
The flash drive has a capacity of 1Gb. The player is equipped with a built-in rechargeable lithium polymer battery which lasts 12 hours.

4.5G iPod. This model is the 5th generation iPod of Apple Inc. It can play both audio and video files and it is also known as “iPod video”.

General notes: The 5G iPod was released on October 12, 2005 and updated on September 12, 2006.
Key Features: After update, the 5G iPods are available in three memory capacity variants: 30 Gb, 60 Gb and 80 Gb. The dimensions vary: 30Gb - 4.1 x 2.4 x 0.43 inches; 60Gb/80Gb - 4.1 x 2.4 x 0.55 inches.

Each of the models posses: click wheel lithium ion battery and display of about 320x240, 2.5" in diagonal. The updated models feature brighter screen, modified earphones, search function, set of games, and longer battery life.

The greatest improvement about the fifth generation iPod is that it allows to view/store/play photos and video. The formats it accepts are: MP4 and H.264.

It takes some time to get into details of each iPod model, and to choose one that fits you. But, the good part about this is that finally you can be sure to find a perfect iPod for yourself. It will suffice your expectancy and will entirely change your life.