EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
As we acknowledge the fact that music has become an integral part of lives, this paper will examine the invention of the iPod, looking at the past, the present and the future of this amazing invention. The iPod has definitely reshaped the human culture and it is believed that the iPod, together with the iTunes store, has marked the beginning of the new digital music age. All this is thanks to Apple and the man behind the Apple Company, Steve Jobs, for possessing the vision to recognize the potential in a product like the iPod.
This paper will be split into three main sections – the past, the present and the future.
1. The Past – Life before the iPod will look at what kinds of products were used as a similar form of entertainment before the iPod was invented, and will also talk about the man and the team of people who so successfully put their heads together to come up with this innovative device. More importantly, this section will explain how the iPod has created a revolutionary shift in the music industry, and how it has changed the lives of so many people in the world.
2. The Present – This section will talk about the evolving uses of the iPod, as well as evaluating the social and economical impacts the iPod has on our society. Some limitations of the iPod will also be brought up.
3. The Future – Lastly, the way the iPod has been integrated into new devices to create even greater products will be discussed. The endless possibilities of future uses of the iPod will also be explored.
INTRODUCTION
Exactly a decade ago, the late Steve Jobs introduced the iPod to the world. Steve Jobs was then the CEO of Apple. In the year 2000, he put together a team of the best designers and engineers to make a revolutionary MP3 player. The team members were Jonathan Ive, Jon Rubinstein, Michael Dhuey, and Tony Fadell, with Steve Jobs as the CEO who handled and managed the whole project.
Although Apple held the reputation of manufacturing its products on its own, this was not the case for the iPod. PortalPlayer was contracted to come up with the design of the iPod, while the music player’s interface was taken from a company known as Pixo. In fact, the name “iPod” was a suggestion by a non-Apple employee, Vinnie Chieco, who was a freelance copyrighter.
The question about who the real inventor of the iPod is is highly debatable. What is obvious is that the creation of the iPod was the result of a few key persons. Most believed that it was the man, Steve Jobs, himself, who invented the iPod. True enough, he was a visionary man who, ten years ago, saw an opportunity in the digital age of the music industry.
In addition, some named Tony Fadell, a member of the team, the father of the iPod. A former employee of General Magic and Phillips, he simply wanted to invent a better MP3 player. Fadell found support for his project with Apple, after facing rejections from RealNetworks and Phillips. He was responsible for the Apple’s partnership with PortalPlayer, who designed the software for Apple’s new MP3 player. He was able to recognize the potential in some of PortalPlayer’s unfinished reference designs and he and his team eventually completed a prototype iPod within eight months.
However in 2008, Apple admitted that it did not invent the iPod. In fact, Kane Kramer, a British man, patented his prototype back in 1979. He created a media player that looked similar to the iPod, and named it IXI. Unfortunately, he ran out of funds in 1988 and was thus unable to renew the patent.
The iPod is a line of portable music players from Apple, designed to work with iTunes, an application available on both Macintosh and Windows computers. iPods have a reputation for being user-friendly and is known for its iconic “touch wheel” and white ear buds. The range of models of iPods produced thus far includes the iPod Classic, iPod Mini, iPod Nano, iPod Shuffle and iPod Touch.
The following sections will examine how the past, present and future of the iPod and how it has evolved since its revolutionary entrance. Also discussed are how the iPod is a game changer in the music industry and what the future holds for this invention.
LIFE LEADING UP TO THE IPOD
Music is embedded in our DNA. The human race almost cannot live without music. Undoubtedly, music has become an integral part of our lives. Walk along the streets, and it is not uncommon to find countless number of people plugged into their iPods, jamming to their music “now playing”. It is almost as if these people are living in their own small world, almost oblivious of the things happening around them. What is fascinating is the fact that sometimes, a person’s playlist may even reflect their personality. So, what was life really like before the iPod?
Prior to the introduction of the iPod by Apple, people listen to their favourite tunes through various platforms. One of the oldest forms of music players that allowed personal song choice selection is the jukebox. Usually coin-operated, a jukebox enables a patron to play their selected music from a list of songs contained in the player. Fast forward to the digital age, several types of music players have emerged. They include the CD players and MP3 player. Recalling from personal experience, CD players and MP3 players used to be the ‘in’ thing back in the 1990s.
Portable CD players allowed one to insert a CD into the player to listen to music through earpieces. At that time, CDs were common as songs were yet to be available for downloads from the Internet. However, these devices were bulky and some even heavy. This meant that it was rather inconvenient to carry them around and it was not user-friendly enough.
The MP3 player was introduced in 1998 and it is an improved form of music entertainment as compared to CD players. Instead of having to carry around several CDs, songs can now be compiled and stored in a smaller thus more portable device. Sometimes, CDs may have been purchased just for a mere one or two songs out of the entire album that we like. With CD players, there is a hassle of having to switch between different CDs to listen to our favourite songs from each CD. By compiling these songs together into the more compact MP3 player, people are saved from the hassle.
While CD players and MP3 players have set the momentum for portable handheld music devices, they had their limitations. CD players were considered “big and chunky” and MP3 players were deemed to be “small and useless”. Users often had to carry a stack of CDs around to play on their Discman while MP3 players had very limited memory space. They were also unappealing. With these dissatisfactions about existing music players, Apple was determined to change this by developing their very own music player.
In response to the new wave of MP3 players, a company called Napster was formed. It is an online music store that was originally founded as a pioneering peer-to-peer file sharing Internet service that enabled sharing of MP3 audio files. It was successful because it was the first program that allows users to share free MP3 files online. Unfortunately, the original company ran into legal difficulties over copyright infringement from the recording industry and eventually ceased operations. Amidst the legal tussle that Napster faced, Steve Jobs at Apple had a game plan.
Jobs capitalized on the concept that Napster has put up, recognizing that Napster has sparked the digital music revolution. He decided that he wanted to produce something that could help people manage and organize their music. As such, SoundJam was taken and was transformed into something even better, and compatible with the Mac. Steve Jobs produced iTunes. iTunes pushed the limits of the music industry as this new software enabled users to download individual songs that they liked, instead of having to download the album in entirety. Also, they could customize their playlists and organize them however they wanted it.
In response to market pleas for more portable music players with larger storage space and sleeker designs, Apple announced its first iPod on 23rd October 2001, selling at a price of $399. The product focused on promoting its small size and ease of use of the device. The first iPod had a 5GB storage capacity – capable of storing over 1,000 songs – and worked only on Macs, using iTunes as a music organizer. This was in comparison to older MP3 players that could only store a few hundred songs. By 2010, 225 million iPods have been sold.
It is no doubt, that the iPod is playing an integral role in our daily lives. Apple had successfully created a brand name for themselves with the iTunes and iPod, and is a game changer in the music industry. Its iconic “touch wheel” gave the iPod the edge over competitors. This was because for non-Apple music players, users had to literally click the “next” button as many times as they needed, to get to the song that they wanted to listen to. This proved too troublesome especially when the music player contained more than a hundred songs. Fortunately, the iPod’s “touch wheel” solved this issue perfectly. With the “touch wheel”, users were now able to scroll through their playlists so much quicker, even though the iPod contained at least a thousand songs.
Apple also managed to market the iPod as a fashion statement, as celebrities and sports stars started to embrace this new product. People seen with white earpieces snaking out of their ears got everyone else curious. While the reason for Apple to produce white earpieces was simple – to match the colour of their first iPod – the company did not expect society to use it as a fashion statement. Yet, the white earpieces became a symbol of Apple and were subsequently a very useful marketing tool. In fact, this iPod accessory has since doubled up as a fashion accessory as well.
Also, never before were people able to customize and organize their own playlists, to suit each individual’s needs. The social dynamics in terms of the music industry had transformed drastically and new behavioral patterns have started to emerge, ever since the world used iTunes. Moreover, this new phenomena in the music industry has also brought about an economical shift in the music related companies. The number of operating retail music chain stores has decreased drastically since iTunes, and it is estimated that 1 in every 4 songs sold in the United States are sold through iTunes.
THE IPOD TODAY
The main purpose of the invention of the iPod was to provide consumers with a portable music player that is easy to use so that they could listen to music wherever they go. Today, you can find people plugged into their iPods almost anywhere. Walk into a gym, and you will find people running on the treadmill while listening to their iPods. Walk into a library, and you will find students studying while listening to their iPods. Walk to the bus stop, and you will find people waiting for buses while listening to their iPods. The iPod is being used everywhere. It is almost impossible for anyone to not recognize that this invention has truly changed our lives.
Apart from its main use of listening to music, the iPod comes with different features and functions as well. For example, the first few iPod models came with basic features like calendar and games. However as the iPod evolved and newer models emerged, uses of the iPod increased as well. Subsequent significant additional features of the iPod include the video feature and the shuffle feature. Both of these additions were responsible for re-shaping the human culture and changing the dynamics of the digital music age even more.
Having the video feature in the iPod meant that people could now take what they once were only able to watch on television or on their computer screens together with them, and watch them on the go. The shuffle feature was an exciting addition as it resulted in a pattern change in listening habits. Previously, songs were played based on the song order of the iPod’s playlist. This became routine and boring. With the shuffle button, listeners could shuffle their songs in random order to create a shuffled playlist. They will be able to listen to a variety of songs that the iPod randomly chooses to play, instead of having to listen to the same genre of music for songs played in chronological order. This added colour and essence to one’s listening habits.
Taking a look at the latest model in the iPod series, the iPod Touch also known as the iTouch, Apple has constantly been pushing boundaries. Not only does the device allow one to listen to music and watch videos on the go, the iTouch also supports millions of downloadable applications from the App Store. These downloadable apps range from entertainment to productivity, from education to health and fitness. Consumers are likely to find any app that they want from the store. Being able to store these apps in the iPod and carry them around wherever you go has made life so much more convenient and less boring.
The social impacts of the iPod are immense. We are now able to bring our entertainment along with us wherever we go. There will no longer be lonely moments when you are waiting for a friend who is running late. The iPod and its interesting features will be there to keep you company. Individual music experience has been greatly enhanced. People are enjoying the control they have over their own music experience. Dr. Michael Bull, a lecturer in media and culture at the University of Sussex, noted that people with the iPod, music allows people to use their eyes while listening to their music. He called it nonreciprocal looking. Listening to music allows you to look at someone but not look at them when they look back. The earplugs tell them that you are otherwise engaged. This is a great urban strategy for people to control their level of interaction with their surroundings. It is also a good way to control mood and equilibrium. Listening to music helps to shut out unwanted thoughts, allowing one to control their emotions.
In fact, the iPod is a seriously useful tool, and potentially indispensable object in the sporting arena. The iPod provides athletes, and anybody else, the power to craft their own playlist. They have control over the kind of songs that they want to put in their iPods. This is especially useful when it comes to competition grounds. Athletes often use music as a tool to gear them and prepare their minds for competition. They know what kinds of music they need to listen to in order for them to compete at their best. As such, music has become a psychological tool when it comes to high performance sports. In these cases, the playlist of athletes becomes extremely important. It is no longer merely a list of their favourite songs. These songs now serve a much higher purpose.
Health and fitness wise, there are hundreds of apps available for download in the App Store to cater to this need. Music provides the entertainment that will spice up an otherwise monotonous routine of working out. With this added motivation, more and more people will be motivated to get in shape and live a healthier lifestyle. The personal stereo provides a much more active form of entertainment, as compared to the television, which could witness a rise in the number of couch potatoes in the world.
The economical impacts of the iPod are widespread too. Businesses are now turning to the video feature in the iPod to conduct staff training. This will enable the company to cut down on expensive travel and meetings and training programs. As of October 2006, Apple’s iPod held a market share of about 75% of the MP3 player market, an astounding figure for a consumer electronics category. Its iTunes store had an even more impressive 88% share of legal song downloads. At the rate that Apple was innovating, it was clear that no company could compete with them. Several record labels, and even Hollywood have come to grips with this new reality. Music albums now no longer need to be purchased in its entirety. Instead, consumers can handpick that one or two songs that they most like from an album otherwise stuffed with sub-par music. Similarly with television programs, Apple started selling commercial-free episodes of television shows on the iTunes store in 2005 in the form of podcasts. Consumers quickly embraced this new culture.
While society is so caught up in this whole iPod craze, we will now examine some of the limitations of the iPod.
When Apple rolled out its very first iPod, iTunes was only available on Macintosh and was incompatible with Windows. However, this changed subsequently and iTunes was made available on computers that run on Windows as well. When this happened, Apple saw a huge increase in the revenue they collected from the sale of their iPods because more people now had access to iTunes, which was the program used to synchronize iPod contents. While some people loved iTunes for its ease of organizing their iPod contents and syncing them between the two devices, Apple has received criticism for it being the only medium to interact with the iPod. Whereas for other music players, contents are easily accessible from the “My Computer” folder in computers. Another disadvantage of the of Apple’s iPod is the fact that the FairPlay DRM protection program only allows songs purchased through iTunes to be played on the device. Also, all iTunes-purchased songs will be unplayable on another brand of music player. This is probably Apple’s way of keeping customers loyal to their products.
Moreover, the iPod functions on a non-replaceable battery. This is a limitation because internal rechargeable batteries will eventually stop holding their charge. Lucky for those whose batteries die out while their iPods are still under warranty, because they will be able to get a replacement iPod. However, for those whose iPods are no longer under warranty, there is no point for them to purchase a replacement battery and they will have to purchase another iPod.
Surprisingly or not, the iPod came with a few health concerns as well. A study recently showed that iPods could potentially interfere with pacemakers resulting in malfunctions when placed near the heart-monitoring device. In all fairness, this study was not conducted on other MP3 players and it is unknown if they will produce similar results.
Another concern after the rise of the iPod was increasing robbery rates in the United States. Robbery rates actually decreased nationwide in the country each year from 1993-2004. However, this changed from 2004 onwards, which is when society was starting to buy into the iPod craze. Some associated the rise in robbery rates with the increase of sales of iPods. Could this however be a mere coincidence?
Also related to crime, illegal downloads have indeed skyrocketed in 2006 to 5 billion, a 47% increase from earlier years. This can be explained by the convenience and vastness of the Internet. Although songs on iTunes are selling for a mere $0.99, they are some consumers who are still unwilling to pay for the things they want. As a result, websites that provide free online sharing of music files start to emerge, quickly increasing the amount of illegal downloads around the Internet.
In addition, there is increasing concern that continuous use of the iPod will result in hearing problems. The largest consumer group of the iPod is teenagers, even though it can boast consumers from all demographics. The listening habit of teenagers contributes to this concern. Have you ever sat on the bus beside someone who is plugged into his or her iPod, and you realize that you are actually able to hear what the person is listening to? It has become common for teenagers to blast music into their poor ears because it further enhances their solitary music experience, and by completely shutting out any kind of sounds from the outside world, they are able to fully immerse into their own world. However, this bad habit of teenagers will eventually lead to hearing problems and in severe cases, even deafness. The iPod was briefly taken off the market in France in September 2002 when French authorities notified Apple that the iPod violated a law limiting the sound output of portable devices to 100 decibels. Following this legal controversy, Apple subsequently implemented a volume cap on all iPods shipped to Europe.
Furthermore, the iPod’s ability to provide a solitary music experience may not be well received by everyone. Some people fear reduced human interaction in this new digital music age. This may seem contradictory at first because the idea was to allow consumers to create their own customized solitary music experience. However, the act of plugging into a personal stereo may discourage human interaction as they are deemed to be busy listening to their own music and caught up in their own world. A more serious consequence is putting one’s life in danger by listening to the iPod. When plugged in, surrounding sounds tend to be muffled or shut out. This becomes especially dangerous to someone who is crossing the road. Sometimes they get too consumed by the tune they are listening to that they are unaware of oncoming traffic. This has led to a rise in the number of iPod-related road accidents over the years and is a serious cause for concern.
FUTURE CONSIDERATIONS
One of the most successful devices that Apple has produced yet is undoubtedly the iPhone series. The features of these devices have never been seen before prior to the introduction of the iPhone. This creation pushed boundaries even further. The functions of the iPod have been integrated into this new device, except now there are even more features than ever before. Although most people do not classify the iPhone as part of the iPod series, there is no doubt that the iPod plays a significant role in the iPhone. In fact, the iPhone can be seen as merely the iTouch with call features. New versions of the iPhone will continue to be released, the latest being the iPhone 4S, and this is definitely one of the latest use of the iPod. But what else is possible with the invention of the iPod?
It is difficult to satisfy the needs and wants of mankind and it is therefore of no surprise that people are continuing to seek even more compact devices with even more storage space, and even at cheaper prices. In fact, the possibilities in terms of how the iPod will be used in future are limitless. We are only limited by our own imaginations.
Some of the possible ideas generated from consumers wants – they want more compact personal music stereos – involves integrating the iPod into different kinds of existing products. For example, a possibility could be an iPod watch. It is easily worn around the wrist, it is small and compact, and can be used as a fashion statement as well. Although most of these products may not produce the best quality sound for music, more often than not, it is the brand name that Apple is selling. Apple has done brilliantly in keeping consumer’s loyalty, and Apple fans are passionate enough about the products, and will continue indulging in them.
With the recent hype over 3D products such as 3D films, 3D televisions, and even 3D printers in the near future, I will not rule out the possibility of a 3D iPod. Imagine having your favourite song artist performing right in front of your eyes in 3D, coming straight off your personal iPod from a video you have streamed on YouTube. This will bring a whole new dimension to the personal music experience and life will be even more exciting than before.
The uses of the iPod can also be expanded further. There is great potential in the education sector. Teachers and professors can make use of the fact that nowadays, almost every single teen out there owns an iPod, and can therefore utilize the iPod as a teaching tool. Not only will it introduce a fresh new method of teaching and learning, students might have more motivation as well because they feel that the education system is staying relevant with the changes in their lifestyle habits.
CONCLUSION
After the above discussion, I am sure we all will agree that the iPod is indeed a revolutionary introduction to our lives, especially since it was one of the first few products that sparked the digital music revolution. Not forgetting that the iPod would not be operational without the iTunes, the iTunes was also another revolutionary masterpiece. Put the iPod and the iTunes store together and a game changing combination have been created in the music industry.
People were able to enjoy and relish in their own personal music experience like never before and this is expected to continue evolving in years to come. Having looked at what life was like before the invention of the iPod, we can certainly thank Apple and Steve Jobs for improving our quality of lives in terms of leisure and entertainment. Understanding how far this invention have come ever since, will set the platform for us to look at the future possibilities of the iPod. There is no doubt that the iPod still holds great potential to develop into something even greater and could even result in another cultural drift in society.
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