10 Years of the iPod

“It’s 10 years since Apple’s original iPod shuffled on to the scene, changing the way we listen to and buy music for good. But could it soon be time to hang up our white headphones?... The iPod Classic, as the famous scroll-wheel design is now known, hasn’t been updated now since September 2009, with a modest capacity jump from 120GB to 160GB. On the Apple Online Store, shipping times have slipped from 24 hours to 1-3 days. Across the US, several major retailers have reported short supplies, leading to speculation the device may soon be discontinued. It didn’t even warrant a mention at Apple’s annual Developers Conference in 2010. “The iPod’s essentially finished, give or take,” says Dr Alice Enders, a former senior economist at the World Trade Organisation who now reports on global music markets for media consultancy Enders Analysis. “Sales have been in decline for some time. The converged media device is the way forward.” In other words: the iPhone, the iPod Touch and the iPad – devices that the iPod paved the way for, devices that have helped push Apple’s latest profits to a record-breaking $20bn. If the iPod now finds itself as the least-loved of the company’s shiny portable devices, you get the sense Apple is probably OK with that.”

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