Annotated Bibliography

1. Apple Computer, Inc. . iPod . 2001. http://web.archive.org/web/20011130083929/http://www.apple.com/ipod/ (accessed Nov 23, 2011).

This website is the official website of the iPod upon its released. The website was made by Apple to show and market the iPod to the public. One can find a lot of information about the iPod including the iPod’s capabilities, advertisements, features and video of Steve Job’s introducing the iPod.  This web site gives a unique view of the iPod through the perspective of Apple. The iPod was key to Apple’s resurrection as a technology producer. This website is a firsthand look at the iPod through the view of Apple. The website also provides many images of the iPod that will prove beneficial to this project.

2. Apple Special Event 2001 – The first iPod introduction (part 1) & Apple Special Event 2001 – The first iPod introduction (part 2) [Video]. (2001). Retrieved Sep 23, 2011, from

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bz1ZWvZBGYM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpHaa8lokGM

This video is the first introduction of the iPod. The presentation is conducted by Steve Jobs who tells the public how Apple has been adapting to current technological development. He goes through various products that Apple produces. However, he then shows the audience the iPod.  He does this by removing the iPod from his Pocket. He states that even though the IPod is only about the size of a deck of cards, it can still hold up to a thousand songs. He shows the audience that you can have your whole music library in your pocket. Steve Jobs then starts to talk how the iPod is revolutionary. He states that Apple developed a special battery that can last up to ten hours. This video also shows how iPods are ultra-mobile compared to other forms of music recording. This is a firsthand account by Steve Jobs on how iPods have changed music. 

3. 2001 iPod commercial  

 First iPod Commercial 2001 [Video]. (2001). Retrieved Sep 25, 2011, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mE_bDNaYAr8

This advertisement does a great job of showing how the iPod revolutionized music. In the video, you see a young man listening to music on his laptop. Then, with a click, he downloads his music library onto his iPod.  He then proceeds to leave his apartment.  This is a short yet powerful message only has one sentence “A thousand songs in your pocket.” This shows how iPods have helped make music more mobile and accessible on the go. With the iPod, anyone can take most of their music with them anywhere they wish to go.  This allows people to not have to choose what CDs or tapes they wish to take with them. Although CDs and tapes are easy to transport, they lack the storage capability that a hard drive has. While a hard drive lack the mobility of CDs and tapes. This is important because iPods can truly carry up to a thousand songs. Never before have people been able to transport this massive amount of music.

4. Kranzl, Justin. 2002. “iPod wannabe?.” Australian Personal Computer no. 288: 50. Computers & Applied Sciences Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed October 12, 2011).

In this article, a reviewer is comparing the Nomad Jukebox Zen to the Apple iPod. However, this article does not focus on the iPod’s size or memory but rather on its software. An advantage that the iPod had over its competitors was its easy to use software. Although Nomad Jukebox Zen had a lot of memory, it lacked the ability of easy access to a song you wanted to play. iPod’s easy to use program made it a front-runner in the MP3 race. What gave iPod another advantage was its ability to quickly download music on it. This was because Apple used FireWire, which allowed people to quickly download music from their Macintosh to their iPod in only a half an hour. The Nomad Jukebox Zen in comparison needed four hours to complete a download. This shows that iPod’s unique design made it the standard for MP3 players.

5. Mossberg, S. Walters. “Sonicblues’s Rio Riot Is a Bigger, Slower Rival to IPod.” Wall Street Journal – Eastern Edition , 2002.

In this, Wall Street Journal gives a review of a rival MP3 of the iPod. Four months after Apple’s release of the iPod, Sonicblue released its Rio Riot a rival MP3 player. The Rio Riot had a few advantages over the iPod. First, the Rio Riot could store four times amount of songs than the iPod could. The Rio Riot also had a better screen and it was more compatible with other computers unlike the iPod’s dependence on the Macintosh. However, the reviewer goes on to say that he still prefers the iPod. The reason for this is because of iPod’s size. The iPod was considerably smaller and faster than the Rio Riot. This article shows how iPod’s compact size yet large memory impressed people. Even though the iPod had a few issues with it, overall people preferred its small sleek design over its disadvantages. Apple would also later make iPods with more compatible with other computers greatly broadening the market.

 6. Rae-Duppee, Janet. “Gadgets galore: Audio/Video.” U.S. News & World Report 131, no 22 (November 26, 2001): 68.

In this article, the reviewer talks about the iPod shortly after its release. One of the main things that the reviewer talks about is the size of the iPod. The iPod at this time was roughly the size of a deck of cards. Despite its small size for the time, it could hold up to a1000 songs. For the time, that was amazing. The reviewer states that this was ground breaking because the first MP3 players could only play 10 or 12 songs when they were released. This1000 songs gave people the chance to take their music library anywhere they wished. This article shows how important size and high storage was for MP3 players at this time. Apple’s ability to build a small yet powerful MP3 player set a standard that all other MP3 players would be judged by. Even though the iPod was highly acclaimed in this article, the review points out its one reoccurring flaw. iPods at this were incompatible with other computers other than Macintosh.