Apples iProducts: Past, present, and future

We all know that the company Apple is best known for their macintosh computers. In 1984 Apple launched it's Macintosh. They also launched a portable mac in 1989, but it was anything but portable. It was bulky and just not practicle. The macintosh on the otherhand was a success and sold very well upon launch, but sales came to slow because of the price tag and limited software. Apple did release the powerbook which established the layout of the laptop as we know it. They came out with many other products, but on August 5th, 1998, Apple released the imac. The imac team was led by a man by the name of Jonathan Ive.. The same man that later would design the ipod and the iphone that we know so popular today.

The imac featured modern technology and a unique design. The imac sold close to 800,000 units in it's first five months in release. As this was happening, Apple scooped up and bought several companies to manage a portfolio of professionals for digital production software. In 1998, Apple introduced the purchase of Macromedia's Final cut software, signaling it's expansion into the digital video editing market. The following year, apple released two editing products. One being final cut pro and the other, iMovie. In 2002, Apple purchased even more companies including Nothing Real for their advanced digital compositing application deemed Shake as well as Emagic for their music productivity application called Logic, which ultimately led to the development of their consumer-level GarageBand application. iPhotos released the same year to complete the iLife suite.

In 2001, Apple finally introduced the ipod. The ipod which I am sure we've all heard of and we know what it is.. It's a portable digital audio player. The product of course, was an amazing hit all over. Selling over 100 million units within six years. In 2003, Apple introduced the iTunes store, which offered music downloads online for 99 cents a song and integration with the ipod. The service quickly became the market leader for online music services with over 5 billion downloads by June 19th, 2008.

The iPod had MANY different versions and many different memory capacities. The products included iPod Classic which was hard drive based, the iPod touch which ofcourse was touchscreen, iPod Nano which was built for video capability, and the iPod Shuffle which was built around compact design. First off lets talk about the classic iPod. The iPod classic has seen many generations. All generations use a 1.8 inch hard drive for storage. The iPod classic was originally just called the iPod, but in September of 2007, it was deemed iPod Classic.

The very first generation iPod had a slogan.. "1,000 songs in your pocket". The first ipod I think was a black and white LCD screen and featured a 5GB hard drive that was obviously capable of storing 1,000 songs. It was priced at $399. Among the innovations were it's size. It was small and had a 1.8 inch hard drive. It's competitors were using 2.5 inch hard drives at that time. It's controls were a mechanical scroll wheel which gave it smooth and easy navigation through it's menus. A center select button was also there and 4 buttons around the wheel for menu, skipping back and fourth, and a pause button. The iPod had a rated battery life of 10 hours. On March 20th, 2002, Apple introduced a 10GB model of the first generation iPod for $499. vCard compatibility was added as well as allowing iPods to display business card information synced from a Mac.

The second generation of the iPod was introduced in July of 2002. It used the same exact body style as the first one, but the hold switch was redesigned, a cover was added to the fire wire port, and the mechanical wheel was replaced with a touch sensitive one. The front plate also had rounded corners and edges. The second generation was available in 10GB versions which were priced at $399 and a 20GB version for $499. The first generation was indeed carried over with the 5GB model, but it's price dropped to $299. Apple began selling windows-compatible versions of the iPod which I find funny in a way, but it was a must since so many of their users has windows based computers. These versions came with Musicmatch JukeBox instead of iTunes. In December of 2002, Apple released it's first limited edition iPods, with Modonna's, Tony Hawk's, and Beck's signature or No doubt's band signature engraved on the back of them for an extra 50 bucks.

April 28th, 2003, Apple announced a completely redesigned third generation iPod. This one was thinner and it replaced the firewire port with a new dock connector which is actually still used today. It also introduced the touch wheel which is a non-mechanical interface with the four buttons located in a row right above the wheel instead of around it. There was a 10GB, 15GB, and a 30GB model priced at $299, $399, and $499. All iPods were now compatible with both Mac and windows based PCs right out of the box. The battery life for this generation was 8 hours partially due to the use of a lithium-ion battery as opposed to a lithium polymer battery. The 15GB one was replaced by a 20GB model and the 30GB model was upgraded to 40GB on September of 2003. The musicmatch software for windows was replaced with iTunes 4.1 which was the first made available for Microsoft Windows.

On July 19th, 2004, the fourth generation came into light and this time the touch wheel was replaced with the click wheel from the iPod Mini. This time they placed the four buttons underneath the wheel. It was also slightly slimmer. There was a 20GB model for $299 ad a 40GB model for $399. These were simple price points and models. Apple began reducing pack-in accessories starting with this generation. While a dock, carrying case, and a wired remote were previously included with higher-end iPods, the higher-level 40GB iPod only came with a dock, earphones, and a usb cable. This generation had increased battery life that made it a strong 12 hours while using the same battery as it's predecessor. A U2 Edition was announced  to cross market U2's album at the time. The plastic front piece of the special U2 edition was black and the scroll wheel was red to coincide with the album. With 30GB and the signature of all four members of the band, the special edition iPod was priced at $349 and also included a $50 coupon for a collection of U2's entire back catalog which costed 150 bucks.The U2 iPod had special privileges such as downloading some songs for free. Also there was a special Harry Potter edition on September 7th, 2005. It was released right alongside the Harry Potter audiobooks on iTunes. It had a Hogwarts logo engraved on the back and all 6 of the Harry Potter audiobooks were available at the time preloaded.

At the same time as the U2 iPod, Apple also unveiled the iPod Photo. This was a premium version of the standard 4th generation iPod with a featured 220x176 pixel LCD capable of displaying up to 65,536 colors. The photo supported JPEG, BMP, GIF, TIFF, and PNG graphic file formats. Another thing about this one is that it can be attatched to a television set or other external display for a slideshow of sorts which is kind of cool. The battery was rated for 15 hours of music playback and 5 hours of slideshows with music. It was available in a 40GB version for $499 and a 60GB version for $599. On February 23rd, 2005, both of the models were replaced with a slimmer and lower price point of $449, and of course the accessories that were included were reduced, making the dock, firewire cable, and television hook ups an extra cost option.

On October 12th, 2005, Apple introduced the fifth generation of iPods. The fifth generation featured a 2.5 inch 320x240 screen and a smaller click wheel. This is also known as the iPod Video. The iPod video was the first iPod to be available in alternative color scheme in a non-special edition form. The four pin remote port was removed from it and it was the second full redesign of the iPod's aesthetic with it's re-arranged proportions. Because of the removal of the remote port, some accessories have problems with this iPod. A 30GB version and a 60GB version was offered fro $299 and $399. It also had an offering in the U2 Special Edition for $349 with 30GB. The iPod video was the very last model to have a plastic face.

The iPod video played MP4 videos and H.264 formats. Video such a televisions shows, podcasts, music videos, and movies may be purchased from the iTunes store or downloaded from good video and other similar sources, then imported using the iTunes software. Videos and Slideshows both can be played on this generation iPod on a television set, projector, or monitor. The iPod video was updated in September of 2006 with a brighter screen, a search feature, gapless playback, and support for iPod games.. Also it had newly designed earphones. The refreshed product also had longer video playback time. The 60GB version was soon replaced with an 80GB version and prices were cut by 50 bucks for both models.

During a special event on September 5th, 2007, The sixth generation iPod was introduced with the deemed name "Classic". This generation was all about making it sleeker and more sexy. The iPod was thinner and also sported dramatically improved battery life, claiming up to an incredible 40 hours of music playback and 7 hours of video. It had a 2.5 inch backlit screen and a resolution of 320x240. The front plate was now made out of anodized aluminum instead of the polycarbonate plastic that we've previously seen on models. The signature white colored iPod was replaced with a silver one. This marked the first time that the white was not part of the color scheme surprisingly. This generation also introduced a completely overhauled interface that incorporated more graphics within it. The sixth generation classic was offered for an actual cheaper price point and bigger amounts of space which was awesome. It had a 80GB model for $249 and a 160GB for $349.

The U2 special edition was indeed dropped. A year later, the 80GB and the thicker 160GB were discontinued in favor of a thinner 120GB version retailing for $249. It had audio recording capabilities which were also available in other models released at a similar time.  Also a slimmer 160 GB Model was introduced at a price point of $249 and now the 120GB model was dropped and now the only option available is the 160GB model. This all pretty much covers the Classic iPod, but there are many other different ones out there so let's continue exploring shall we?

The iPod Nano.. The Nano was introduced at the end of 2005 as a replacement for the iPod mini. It uses flash memory just like the iPod shuffle, but with a 2.2 inch display and the click wheel that is found in the previous classic iPod we just talked about. The Nano has gone through 5 generations since it's intro into the industry. The current generation supports the FM radio, video recording, a microphone for voice memos, a pedometer, and a slightly larger screen than that of a previous generation of the Nano. This model was all about being small and thus they were advertised as such. It's only a mere 1.6 inch wide, 3.5 inch long, 0.27 inch thick, and weighs only 1.5 ounces. It's battery life was up to 14 hours. The screen is 176x132 and 1.5 inch and can display 65,536 colors. (16-bit).

The Nano was launched in two different colors which were white and black classic colors and it only included two different sizes.. A 2GB model and a 4GB model. Apple later introduced a 1GB model. Apple also released some accessories such as armbands and silicone tubes that were to bring color to the Nano and protect it from scratches. There was also a lanyard-earphone accessory that hangs around the next to avoid any cord tangling problems. When the Nano was introduced to replace the mini, many felt that it was a very risky move, but the competition started to catch up in terms of design and Apple wanted to get the edge and Apple believe the Nano would give off that edge. Within days of release, some users reported damage to their Nanos such as scratching on the screen and fine scratches caused by microfiber cloths. Others reported screen cracks with no provocation. Apple did confirm that a small percentage of Nanos that were shipped did infact have faulty screens and agreed to replace them, but they did deny that the Nano was more susceptible to scratching than prior iPods.

However Apple did start to ship their Nanos with a protective sleeve to protect it from scratches. In October 2005, a class action lawsuit was filed against Apple with their plantiffs seeking reimbursement for the device, legal fees, and unlawful or illegal profits from sales of the Nano. The lawyers of the plantiffs claimed that the devices scratch excessively during normal usage, rendering the screens unreadable, and violating state consumer protection statutes. Similar cases were filed in Mexico and the UK. Later on, there was a report in Australia of a Nano actually catching on fire while being charged on a PC. Since the limited warranty was over, the consumer was not able to get a replacement right away. Another incident happened in the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International airport while a man was working at the airport. His iPod Nano actually set his pants on fire... wow. Apple refused to comment or release a statement on the issue. In addition, a Nano sparked in Japan while it was being charged. Apple said they were then currently investigating it. It was reported in August of 2008 that 17 incidents of abnormal overheating with 1st generation iPod Nano units while recharging them in Japan. It freaks me out.. You could be listening to your Nano and then BOOM.. your freaking pants are on fire or your PC is on fire.. It's scary..

On September 12th, 2006, Apple updated the Nano with a second generation and they fixed the problem with scratching by using a scratch resistant anodized aluminum casing. This leads me to believe they knew it was faulty and did cause scratching.. There were multiple color choices including green, silver, blue, black, and pink. The second generation featured a brighter more vibrant display screen and also had a battery life upgrade from 14 to 24 hours. The new models were 2GB, 4GB, and 8GB storage. The 2GB model was only available in silver though. The 4GB was initially available in green, blue, silver, or pink. The 8GB was available in only black but red was also added later. Apple claims that the second generation was packed 32% lighter and uses 52% less volume than the first generation so they were reducing the environmental impact and shipping cost at the time. October of 2006, Apple announced a special edition Nano with a red exterior and 4GB storage. For each red Nano sold in the US, Apple donates 10 bucks to the product red initiative while retaining the regular price. Apple also introduced a month later an 8GB version due to the popular demand of the customer.

The third generation came in on September 5th, 2007. The third generation of the Nano featured 2inch 320x240 screens and a shorter, wider, and heavier design with new colors. New features included browsing via cover flow which was a new user interface and video playback. Users must repurchase all of their games they bought before a month prior to the debut of the new iPod as they are not supported. The Nano was announced in 4GB version coming in silver and an 8GB version coming in silver, turquoise, mint green, black, and the product red color. The batter lasts for approx. 24 hours on audio and 5 hours with video. A few short months later, Apple introduced a pink version of the 8GB Nano.

On September 9th, 2008 the fourth generation came along for the Nano. It returns to the narrow form factor of the 1st and 2nd gen models while retaining the 2 inch screen from the 3rd generation Nano. It has a curved aluminum shell and glass screen. The batter claimed to last 24 hours for music and only a mere 4 hours for video playback compared to the 5 hours last generation. The previous generation colors were replaced with silver, black, purple, green, yellow, orange, red, and pink for a grand total of nine different colors to pick from. They also added an accelerometer which allows the Nano to shuffle songs by shaking it, the option of portrait or landscape display by tilting it, and access to coverflow when tilted sideways. Videos however can only be watched in landscape viewing. The user interface has also been refreshed by adding in a more styled look in keeping up with the hardware design. It included a new voice recording feature and it also included the new genius feature. The genius feature automatically creates playlists based on a selected song using an algorithm built in by Apple. This generation had a 8GB model and a 16GB model and were deemed very environmental friendly and highly recyclable.

At an Apple event in September 9th, 2009, a fifth generation was unveiled with reduced prices on the larger model with the 8GB $149 and the 16GB $179. These were the cheapest ones. A new glossy case and larger 2.2 inch screen was featured in this generation. It also had a integrated video camera with special effects, microphone, FM Radio with iTunes tagging with multiple regions. It also includes live pause, a built in pedometer, Nike and iPod support and speaker. The headphone hack and dock connector switched places so that the headphone jack is now on the left of the dock connector so that means that this generation uses a different Apple Universal dock insert than the fourth gen. The fifth generation of Nano had nine colors that were basically the same as last gen: silver, lack, purple, blue, yellow, orange, product red, green, and pink. This fifth generation was the last one for the Nano. So once more lets move onto another iPod..

The iPod shuffle. The Shuffle truly scares me.. Why Because it's so small. It's the smallest in the iPod line and I feel like I would most definitely lose it somewhere since it's so small. The shuffle was released on January 11th, 2005. The first generation weighed 0.78 ounces and was designed to be easily loaded with songs and to play them in random order. This one I do not like due to it has no display screen and it's random.. I really need some display going on and this one was just too simple for my taste. According to Apple, alot of owners often left their iPods to the shuffle setting and the new shuffle obviously was built upon that one thing. There was a 1GB model and this to me just wasn't enough space. It obviously lacks display and the trademark scroll wheel and playlist management that I liked so much. It's missing ALOT of features of past iPods and to me it's just a step in the wrong direction.

The front of the shuffle has buttons for play, pause, skipping, and forwarding songs, and also has the volume adjustments. On the reverse side, it has a light that indicates battery life and a three position switch to turn the unit off or set music in order or shuffle. It plugs directly into a USB port which is also for recharging it's battery. The batter lasts around 12 hours between charges. The USB plug is hidden beneath a cap so that it looks more sleeker when not charging or placing songs on it. The shuffle can also be used as a USB flash drive.

The 2nd generation of the shuffle was announced in September of 2006. It was deemed the most wearable iPod ever. Shipments were supposed to arrive in October of 2006, but actually didn't start shipping until November 3rd, 2006. The new generation featured a lone 1GB model in a silver brushed aluminum casing similar to the second gen Nano. The newer model is less than half the size of the first generation making me even more in fear of losing the freaking thing. Apple claimed it was the worlds smallest MP3 player, but is that really a good thing? This version includes a built in belt clip and the unite was alot more thinner with the entire device only weighing 0.55 ounces. The switch for power, order, or shuffling was separated into two different controls to avoid accidentally selecting a different mode. This generation is much different than the first because of it's was of connected to USB. This generation's USB connectivity is provided by an included piece of hardware which acts as a docking station for the transfer of data and for charging. This generation also is able to act as a USB flash device. However, unlike the first gen, this generation does not have a built in USB connector so you need the docking station in order to connect to a computer.

The third generation which was released on March 11th, 2009 is said to be "jaw-droppingly small" and the first music player that talks to you. It is available with a solver or black brushed aluminum casing similar to the second gen. This makes it the first shuffle that is available in black although it's more of a dark grey than anything. It features voice over tech which allows song names, artists, album names, and playlist content to be spoken in 20 different languages. Using text to speech incorporated in iTunes 8 and 9. It also has gained support for multiple playlist which is quite different from previous generations that only allowed for one playlist. The third gen also had a polished steel attatchment clip. It also has no more volume or tracking buttons on the device since the headphones available for this generation has all te buttons on it that you need to control volume and tracking. Apple later introduced three new colors for the shuffle.. Pink, blue, and green. The apple store also offers a 4GB model made of polished stainless steel. Now that we've covered all this, let's talk about the newest iPod shall we?

The iPod touch aka iTouch.. This device is sleek and very technologically advanced compared to all the other ipods. This just isn't simply an MP3 player anymore folks. The iTouch is so much more than that. It's a portable media player, personal assistant, and wi-fi mobile platform. It was launched on September 5th, 2007. The iTouch add the multi-touch graphical interface to the ipod line. It is the first iPod with wireless access to the iTunes and Apple's App store which lets you access, purchase, and download content right there. The second generation of the iTouch featured external volume controls, a built in speaker, a contoured back, built in Nike+, bluetooth support, and the ability to connect to a microphone. The late iTouch with the new iPhone operating system 3.1 was announced and released on September 9th, 2009. The late model is available with 8GB, 32GB, or 64GB of flash memory. The 8GB has identical hardware to the 2nd gen model. The 32GB and 64GB versions were referred to as the 3rd generation which includes faster hardware, a slightly lower battery life, voice control, light sensor, and bundled earphones with a remote and microphone.

Let's move onto the iPhone.. The iPhone is similar to the iTouch. The iPhone is a line of internet and multimedia enabled smartphones. It functions as a camera phone, a portable media player, and an internet client. The user interface is built around the devices multi-touch screen which includes a virtual keyboard. You can do so many things on the iphone. Send texts at an instant, play games that are actually pretty fun and amazing for a phone or sorts. Download Apps that you can use on your phone. There is an App for almost anything you would need for a phone and more. GPS is there, web surfing is there, anything you'd ever need is there. The iPhone was introduced on June 29th, 2007. Over the course and years, the iPhone has had further improved versions with a higher resolution camera, video capability, and voice control. The original iPhone was discontinued when they introduced the iPhone 3G which remains available alongside the 3GS version.

Oddly the batter for the iphone is not user-replaceable just like the iPod instead of other phones. The iphone can be charged via a computer for syncing or charged from a wall charger using a USB to AC adapter. A number of third part accessories are available including stereos, car chargers, and even solar chargers. The original iPhone's battery life was said to be 7 hours of video, 6 hours of web browsing, 8 hours of talk time, 24 hours of music playback, or 250 hours of standby. The 3GS is said to provide similar times, but a little bit longer life. Initially, the iphone had a 4GB and an 8GB version. Apple did discontinue the 4GB models and added a 16GB model. Most phones have extra expanded storage options like mini SD cards, but the iphone does not support any extra storage options which is actually okay since it has so much memory already there. The 3GS came out and had a 16GB version and a 32GB version. There is plenty I didn't say about this, but I believe I touched base on this one plentiful. Now i've dealt with almost all the iproducts, but there is one slated in the future and I will briefly mention it..

The iPad.. The iPad is in a category that is between a smartphone and a laptop computer. It is similar in functionality to a larger and more powerful iPhone or iTouch. It runs modified versions of the same OS as the iPhone with a user interface redesigned to take advantage of a larger screen. The iPad has a 9.7 inch LED backlit multi-touch display with a pixel resolution of 1024x768, 16GB to 64GB of flash memory, a 1Ghz Apple A4 processor, Bluetooth 2.1, and a 30 pin dock connector to sync with iTunes and connect wired accessories. Two models have been announced. One with 802.11n Wi-fi and one with 802.11n Wi-fi and 3G and assisted GPS. Both models may be purchased with three different storage capacities. I have no doubt the this iPad will have more generations and models as it appears on the market due to Apple's track record with models and generations of their products. I think it will be successful and new when it comes out. Also probably has quite the hefty price on it though so probably not for me..

This concludes my giant article about Apple's iProducts. I hope you enjoyed this quite long read and if you did, please check out my other articles and feel free to subscribe to me. Thank you! This is DJ Gamer signing out and you all have a great night!