Apple

Changing Times. Changing Music.

Apple Inc. is an American mult inational corporat ion that designs and manufactures consumer electronics and computer software products. Established in Cupert ino, California on April 1, 1976 and incorporated January 3, 1977, by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne the company was cal led Apple Computer, Inc. The company's best-known hardware products include Macintosh computers, the iPod, and the iPhone. Apple software includes the Mac OS X operat ing system, the iTunes media browser, the iLife suite of mult imedia and creat ivi ty software. The company operates more than 250 retai l stores in nine countries, and an online store where hardware and software products are sold.

 Digital cameras, camcorders and organizers had well-established mainstream markets, but the company found exist ing dig ital music players "big and clunky or small and useless" with user interfaces that were "unbelievably awful, so Apple decided to develop i ts own. The companies digi tal music players were named as ‘ iPod’. The product was developed in under an year and was launched on October 23, in 2001. Jobs announced i t as an Mac-compatible product with a 5 GB hard drive. I t was capable of lett ing one carry 1,000 songs in their pocket. These were much smaller in size , avai lable in different colors and soon became ‘fashion statements’ . It also came with a scroll wheel which set i t apart from other music playing devices.

Meet the best iPods ever!

iPod Shuffle

iPod Nano

iPod Classic

iPod Touch

Till now there have been 6 generations of the iPod Classic. The first generation iPod Classic was introduced on October 23, 2001 with the slogan “1,000 songs in your pocket”. The “classic” suffix was formally introduced with the 6th generation iPod on September 5, 2007.This iPod is available in silver or black color replacing the “signature iPod white”.

The first generation iPod Nano was introduced on September 7, 2005. It was launched as a replacement of iPod Mini(inset) which was discontinued on the same day.It uses flash memory for storage purpose. It is available in seven colors.

iPod Mini

Launched in 2005 this iPod model was the smallest of the Apple iPod family.And it was the first to use flash memory.

This iPod is currently available in 2 designs. The 4th generation iPod comes in a square design. The small size makes it handy to carry and is available in seven colors.

iPod Touch is colloquially known as iTouch. It is a handheld gaming console and email capable digital assistant along with being a digital music player. It resembles the Apple’s Smartphone although it is not one.

Apple by no doubt dominates the digita l music player market. The music market share for the Apple iPod has been revealed at 78% in Apple’s Lets Talk iPhone event in 2011. That’s 300 mill ion iPods sold s ince i ts launch 10 years ago.

Apple 's own data shows that 50 percent of new iPod sales are to new customers (didn't previously own one).

The fastest growing model is the iPod Touch, which has sold over 20 mill ion units s ince i t was unveiled two years ago by the company.

Over the last 10 years since i ts launch, iPod has l i teral ly taken over the market. Basical ly there are none of i ts competitors lef t . I t has beaten them up badly, leaving them ridiculed and frustrated.Its once upon a t ime competitors were:•Sony•Samsung•Creat ive Labs•iRiver•Phil l ips•Microsoft Zune•Archos•e.Digital•Cowon•RCA

Apple iPod is mainly aimed at the young adults particular ly those between the age of 12-30. The sleek and simple design of the multiplayer, avai lable in bright amazing colors is an eye catching factor for the young generat ion. I t appeals to both males and females.People passionate about music or nurturing an interest in i t ,music enthusiasts and people who love to have fun with technology are mostly the ones attracted towards i t . It is targeted at the niche market creat ing product desirabil i ty especial ly in the middle class and the high class. Apple’s real problem is not pricing, their iPods are Neither too cheap nor too expensive. There are various iPods that are avai lable at dif ferent prices and are bought by, from teens to mil l ionaires, according to their reach.

One of the main factors in iPod’s populari ty is i ts design. I ts design has nothing that can be cr it icized about. And no one can deny that i ts design is s imply iconic. Design museums around the world display iPods proudly. Its aesthetically appealing design and concept has won Apple 's senior vice president of industrial design, Jonathan Ive, mult iple awards and honors.The simplici ty of i ts design speaks for i tself . There are no unnecessary wheels or buttons, the element provided is enough for the user to navigate between the songs.

Even i ts headphones are strategical ly designed. The white sleek designed headphones work awesomely and f i t perfectly in one’s ears.

Since their launch in 2001, Apple’s iPods have won many awards ranging from engineering excellence to the most innovat ive product . The iPods have also been receiving favorable reviews; scor ing highly on looks, i ts c lean, sleek and sl im design and ease of use.Several industries have been altering their product designs so that they can be compatible with Apple’s products.The iPods have also stepped in and earned a name as business devices. Organizations have turned to iPods and have started to use them as a delivery mechanism for business communicat ion and training. In the Royal and Western Infirmaries in Glasgow, Scotland, iPods are used to train the new staff .It has had now about 70% of the market share for quite a few years now.The reason can be that i t could store more of our music as compared to the other players available in the market and by i ts use of FireWire i t meant that more f i le transfer speed could be used.