iPod – Super hero or villain?
The iPod has taken over the world. Everywhere you look, people are walking around with headphones on. What is it about this tiny device that sends people running back into their homes when they realize they’ve left it behind?
Origin Story
Like any superhero, the iPod has an origin story. It started in 2001 as a bulky and under-appreciated child, with a weird wheel on its front and an inability to get along well with the other kids in the playground. A year after its release, the iPod learned to play nice with the PC; its trusty sidekick – iTunes – followed suit in 2003. That’s when it started maturing from a gawky adolescent to the silence-defeating hero (or villain) that it is today.
The Costume Evolution
Instead of bulking up, the iPod slimmed down. Its thin frame belied the increased capacity and power. First, it was available only in white, was 0.78” thick, weighed 184g, came with either 5G or 10G, and had the innovated Scroll Wheel. By 2009, the seventh generation was available in black or silver, was 0.41” thick, weighed 139g, came with 120G or 160G, and had a “ClickWheel”. It lost half the inches and gained more than 32 times the storage capacity.
We’re not even going to get into the other iPod-inspired heroes that had been spawned by the time the seventh gen was released.
World Salvation…. or Domination?
This small, shiny superhero is celebrating its 13th birthday in October to great aplomb. In 2013, 26.4 million iPods were sold. 40% of Americans over the age of 12 have an iPod, iPhone or iPad – and 69% of iDevice owners world-wide have an iPod. For a device whose name was inspired by the pod bay doors in 2001: A Space Odyssey, that’s not too shabby.
Let’s just hope it’s not a super villain in disguise.