When Apple released the iPod in 2003, they forever changed the way people listen to music on the go. Almost immediately, the MP3 player eradicated portable CD players as the optimum choice for mobile music, with its incredibly storage capacity, ease of use, and high quality sound. In the years since then, the iPod has been redesigned several times, and several rival MP3 players have been released to compete, but the original iPod (now known as the iPod classic) remains the gold standard for portable MP3 players.
The new generation of the iPod Classic was recently released, and it’s notable for its complete lack of features. This is not an oversight or undersell, but seems to be designed to appeal solely to those who want nothing more from their MP3 player than the ability to play MP3s.
This goes back to one of the reasons for the iPod Classic’s continued popularity; its rather simple functionality. As iPods have been getting more sophisticated in recent years, Apple has been consistently adding new features, such as a touch screen, camera, and the ability to record videos. While there are certainly technophiles out there who praise the advent of such features, in today’s smart phone world, they may seem a bit redundant. After all, the average cell phone now has a camera and can record and play videos with ease. Why would one need a second device that can do the same thing? It seems to make sense that the average consumer for an iPod is buying it purely for its music playing capabilities and little else. Any additional features available on the iPod seem frivolous, and might only be purchased by an ordinary consumer as an impulse buy. The iPod Touch is the more gadget-oriented model, but might seem to be Apple competing with themselves. Since many of its features can be found on the Apple iPhone, it makes more sense to go with that device, since it comes with a host of extra features as well.
Furthermore, the iPod Nano, the smaller model in terms of both its size and storage capacity, also has remained a popular choice in recent years. The iPod Nano, is purely a smaller version of the iPod classic, but is also cheaper, making it an economical purchase for those who cannot afford the classic or more advanced model. And yet, the iPod Classic continues to sell well, since the consumers have voted with their wallets that a device that solely plays MP3s and can hold 160 GBs worth is all people want.
Even though modern phones can also play music as well, the massive storage capacity, accessibility of the iTunes store, and superior sound quality continue to make the iPod Classic a popular choice for consumers.
