Music has been around almost as long as humans have been. But perhaps the most quickly advancing aspect of music is that of portable music. From the Walkman to the cassette player to the CD player, which have only been around since the 70's and 80's, we have had many advancements in only 30 years to get to where we are today. The first i-pods were mind blowing and they continue to get smaller and hold more music. "The original iPod, released in 2001 combined a 5GB hard drive with a rechargeable battery pack and a paradigm breaking user interface. Marketed by Steve Jobs as “1000 songs in your pocket,” the iPod didn’t necessarily do that much differently under the hood from other MP3 players, but it had a sleek design (by 2001 standards), a unique and simple navigational system, and the Apple brand name to back it all up...With their one-two punch of form and function, Apple continues to dominates the portable music player market today. Over the years Apple has continued to release a plethora of new iPod models, including the recent addition of video playback, and the forthcoming iPhone.Only time will tell how portable media players will evolve. With innovations like touchscreens, high definition video playback, wireless streaming, low cost solid state memory and more on the horizon, the first 50 years was just the beginning."
It is truly unbelievable how far MP3 players have come and how accepted that have been. I also found it funny that I haven't heard the phrase MP3 player in such a long time. It seems that apple has such a strong hold on that area that they are now referred to as iPods. I remember buying my first MP3 player when they first came out. It had 128MB of storage capacity which held about 30 songs, just over two CD's worth. That 128MB MP3 player came with a price tag of around $175. By todays standards that is an absurd price for that amount of memory. They don't even sell MP3 players that small any more. I think the last one I bought was 30gb and cost $200. That is over 300 times more storage capacity for a similar price, but hey thats just the evolution of technology at work.
ReplyDeleteI cannot imagine having to go back to a cassette player to listen to my favorite songs. With today's technology and an iPod in my hand I have all my music on the go. I am able to select my favorite artist, song or even a playlist of songs I particularly enjoy. I remember having to rewind and fast-forward to get to a song I like and when in a mood to listen to it over and over again (and who hasn't been in one of those moods) it gets annoying. Even when the age of CD players came to play. It was an inconvenience to have to only bring the best of the best and not a variety of music with you as you were on the go. Although the invention of the CD-burner was a great plus for the CD player, allowing you to create a playlist as you will of you favorite of favorite songs. But as I said, life without an iPod would be devastating to say the least.
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