The Cold Cut

The 1st generation ipod was released in 2001, to mild acclaim. I reckon it was about the 3rd generation when it started to become the modern icon it is today. As the owner of a 5th generation ipod and the previous owner of a 3rd generation ipod, I am a proud part of this phenomenon. I should probably say now that I got a 5th generation ipod because my first one broke... so why do people keep coming back for more?

Well, I will first point out that the ipod is more than just an mp3 player: it is a piece of art. The looks of the ipod are striking enough that people wanted one just from the adverts. Initially, Apple was ahead of the curve in terms of its user interface as well, so they were giving the full package. In the time it took the other mp3 companies (Sony, Creative) to catch up with the ipod, it had all of us hooked.

Apple are very good at keeping up with technological developments; they release a new generation of the ipod yearly, keeping the consumers interested and willing to wait for the next version. For example, the rumour-mills say that a new widescreen ipod will be on the market within the year. The only current issue I can find with the ipod is the batterty; the quoted life on the 30Gb video ipod is 18 hours of music, and I get about 10 on a good day. Another problem is the fact that the ipod is essentially, just a nicely presented hard-drive. Hard-drives are made of lots of small components and a small rotating reel, and are likely to fall apart is moved around. So think about the fact that many people use their ipods for running: its no wonder so many of them break!

I'm sure many of you out there have ipods; have you had any problems with yours? Do you keep coming back for more? And if you haven't got one, whats your view on this iconic piece of technology?