Does Apple Repair Ipod Classics

AMG | Apple co-founder Steve Jobs shows off an iPod. Photograph Courtesy: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

These days, y'all most probable rely on your smartphone, tablet or laptop for streaming music, only, if you the mood struck, you could nonetheless purchase an iPod Touch. This seventh generation iteration of Apple's once-popular line of portable media players may not hold the same cultural relevance information technology in one case did, but the iPod'south importance cannot be understated. Not simply was it a landmark invention for Apple — a brand-builder that endeared a broad range of customers to Apple before the company launched its iPhone — merely it also changed the music game.

Whether you remember toting around a boombox, Walkman or CD player, nosotros can all hold that mp3 players fabricated listening to music on the get much more convenient. Non but that, just these portable devices allowed you to access a broad-ranging library of music all in once place. And, two decades ago, no one was doing it better than Apple. Released on October 23, 2001, the iPod was a revolutionary device. And then, to gloat the iPod's 20th ceremony, we're taking a look back at how Apple'due south media player made a lasting impact on fine art, applied science and pop culture at large.

2001–2002 | The First iPod Hits Shelves

While portable mp3 players first came onto the scene in the mid-1990s, they didn't pose likewise much of a threat to CD players. The problem? Although loading songs onto a pocketable device sounds convenient, this early mp3 players were either too small-scale or too big — useless, considering they couldn't hold a ton of songs, or clunky, because they contained heavy hard drives. Non to mention, none of those early mp3 players were all that user-friendly.

In the tardily '90s, Tony Fadell, who once worked with the likes of General Magic and Philips, was eager to not only make a better mp3 role player, but launch a digital music store alongside the production. Big-name companies in the music-tech infinite, similar Sony and Philips, turned Fadell down. Merely Apple, which wasn't really a player in this space nevertheless, was only starting what would go its iPod projection, and hired Fadell on to assistance develop the music histrion'south software. Later less than a twelvemonth of development, Apple shared its new device with the world.

At launch, the iPod had a so-massive 5GB of storage infinite and an impressive x-60 minutes (rechargeable!) battery life. That start iteration featured a blackness-and-white display screen — 1 that was much more dynamic than those of competitor devices — and, notably, users navigated the device using the signature scroll bicycle (later, the click wheel). The main drawback? The piddling device that could put "i,000 songs in your pocket" was only uniform with Mac products at offset.

By 2002, Windows users were able to use the iPod with their existing non-Mac setups. Without a doubt, this smart positioning put Apple on track for unparalleled success, but the iPod'southward sleek, unique design too factored into the product's eventual success. Designers were inspired by the look of '50s-era transistor radios and that wheel-based interface were inspired by the push button layout of contemporary cordless phones.

Much in the same way the brand names Kleenex and Band-Aid became the colloquial terms for tissues and bandages, the iPod became the go-to term for referring to mp3 players. According to Apple tree, copywriter Vinnie Chieco proposed the name, maxim that the iPod prototype reminded him of the EVA Pods in Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Infinite Odyssey (1968).

2003–2004 | The iPod Gets a Redesign — and a Mini Model

Ii years after the initial release, the iPod got its start total redesign, which transformed the iconic device into the model y'all probably think of when you hear the discussion "iPod." The offset generation iPod'due south mechanical roll wheel had been replaced with a touch-sensitive wheel when the Windows-compatible version striking shelves, but this complete overhaul led to an all-bear upon interface and a slimmer design.

Photograph Courtesy: Usuario House/Wikimedia Eatables (see below)

A year later on, in 2004, the iPod Mini hit the market place. And it was this device that really inverse the game. This smaller, more affordable model might've had less gigs than the classic iPod, but information technology made up for that smaller storage capacity by coming in five dissimilar colors and introducing the signature "click wheel," which was used in all subsequent iPod generations until the iPod Bear on debuted. Just 2004 was also an exciting year for the classic iPod line; the device (known equally the iPod Photo) featured a color display and offered a whopping 40GB of storage infinite. At the fourth dimension, it was such a novelty to view full-color photos on a portable device — if you can imagine that.

With a variety of models for consumers to cull from, Apple tree began really hitting its stride with the iPod. According to Apple Insider, the iPod dominated digital music player sales in the U.S., making up over seventy% of the market for all types of players. As PC Globe put it, the iPod "altered the landscape for portable audio players."

Apple'south advertisement strategy didn't injure either. First developed in 2003, the now-iconic dancing silhouette ads were instrumental in redefining Apple's brand. Of course, the standout song choices helped too. Any 1 of the tunes used in an iPod commercial — "Hey Mama" past the Blackness Eyed Peas, "Jerk Information technology Out" by Caesars, "Technologic" by Daft Punk, "1234" by Feist, "Shut Up and Let Me Become" by The Ting Tings, "Bruises" by Chairlift — certainly has the power to transport y'all back to the mid-2000s.

And while we're yet upset that Apple tree forced that U2 album on us in 2022 without our consent, there's no denying that the visitor'due south before collaboration with the Irish rock band in 2004 was a big moment for Apple and its view on endorsements. In add-on to the release of a limited-edition iPod, Apple celebrated the release of U2's How to Dismantle an Diminutive Bomb album past debuting an iPod-exclusive music video of U2'due south striking song "Vertigo."

_{iPod Mini | Usuario Business firm/Wikimedia Eatables, CC BY-SA 3.0}

2005–2006 | The iPod: Now in Color — and More Affordable

While the iPod Mini opened the door for a cracking number of consumers, Apple saw the importance of introducing an fifty-fifty more affordable iPod model. In 2005, the visitor launched the iPod Shuffle, which retailed for but $99; of course, the Shuffle didn't have a display screen and it could only hold a gig of songs, but the affordability of it got folks hooked on Apple's products.

Photo Courtesy: F/Bloomberg/Getty Images; George Frey/Bloomberg/Getty Images

That same twelvemonth, Apple introduced the iPod Nano, a screen-based iPod that used flash memory. Its storage infinite went up to 4GB, but this more than compact device was still more than affordable than classic iPod models. If the shuffle was too low-tech — or if you wanted a more convenient interface — the Nano was a great in between model. But if you wanted to go big, Apple'due south iPod Video, which provided a staggering 60GB of storage and immune for video playback, was also available for a steeper toll-point. The device's focus on video content meant a larger screen — and at that place's no doubt that this focus helped usher in the age of portable, multimedia devices.

2007–2009 | Who Needs Buttons? The iPod Touch Dominates

In 2007, Apple introduced the iPod Touch, which looked a whole lot like its iPhone. With a large touchscreen, 32GB of storage space, and the iOS operating arrangement on manus, the iPod Bear upon straddled the line between portable media player and smartphone. While it was primarily used to play music, games and video content, the landmark device as well allowed for WiFi-based internet browsing and email admission. Not to mention, users could also admission the iTunes Store via the device'due south app.

Photo Courtesy: Cate Gillon/Getty Images

For users who wanted to keep the focus on music, 2007'southward iPod Classic featured a whopping 160GB of storage space and a more "low-tech" experience. During this time, Apple tree sold its 1-hundred millionth iPod, which, unsurprisingly, confirmed that the iPod was the best-selling digital music player of all time. This smash also helped Apple tree build make loyalty with a broader audition; these same iPod users would maybe exist more than inclined to purchase iMacs, MacBooks and iPhones.

Two yers after, a push-less, voice-controlled version of the iPod Shuffle came out equally did an iPod Nano outfitted with a video camera. With a variety of iPod options to adapt costumer's varying needs, Apple had created a product love across generations — a kind of cultural touchstone that divers the decade. "If there's annihilation anyone in this field is chasing, it'southward Apple's quality and simplicity," Fast Visitor noted dorsum in 2005. "Option up an iPod, and you get it, y'all feel it, you sense information technology."

2010–Present | The iPod Lives

By 2022, the iPod Nano resembled the Shuffle in size, though it did characteristic a touch screen, video playback capabilities and the signature click cycle. The camera, however, was removed in favor of a new innovation; these iPods could exist outfitted with bands and worn on your wrist, much like a watch. Meanwhile, the iPod Touch on became much more like the iPhone 4; with it, yous could text your friends via iMessage or hop on a FaceTime call.

Photo Courtesy: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

From music player to multifunctional communication and entertainment device, the iPod evolved with its audition's needs. Since 2022, Apple has stopped manufacturing standalone music players, like the Nano and Shuffle, though yous tin can still pick up an iPod Touch if you don't want to load music and content onto your smartphone — or if y'all don't have a smartphone.

While the iPhone might accept go Apple's marquee product, information technology's articulate that this ubiquitous device wouldn't have the impact and reach it currently has had the iPod not paved the way start. Outside of the tech realm, the iPod helped conductor in the digital music age — an historic period of streaming, of ownership 99-cent singles instead of whole albums — thanks in large function to iTunes, a platform that succeeded in conjunction with the iPod.

Back in 2004, around the time of the "Vertigo" collaboration, U2 frontman Bono said that the iPod is "the nigh interesting art object since the electrical guitar in terms of music." At present that'south high praise. And, considering the iPod's legacy twenty years later, the pocket-sized device definitely lived up to that massive commendation.