Apple iPods (Late 2009)

Life is good when you're the market leader, but as products mature, they also pick up more and more extraneous functionality and, as a result, become more complex. Such is the case with Apple's industry-leading iPods, one of the most popular consumer electronics products of the past decade. The iPod started off as a single, Mac-only model that featured a black-and-white screen, 5 GB of storage, and Firewire connectivity. (See my review of that first iPod model!) Today, the iPod consists of several very differentiated player models as well as ancillary products like the iPhone, the Apple TV, and even the AirPort family of wireless access points.

To keep the iPod on a torrid sales pace (well, at least until this year), Apple has expanded the product family and added tons of functionality over time. Today's iPod lineup consists of the iPod shuffle (no screen or traditional button-based controls), the iPod nano (full color, scrollwheel control), the iPod classic (full color, large-capacity hard drive, scrollwheel), and the iPod touch (touchscreen, with an applications platform). But those four iPods don't tell the whole story. Within those four products are four very different control schemes. The iPod shuffle must be controlled via voice or a specially-made headphone set or headphone adapter. The iPod nano sports a modern version of the classic iPod interface, with features like Cover Flow and an integrated video camera. (The iPod nano also supports the shuffle's voice interface.) The iPod classic hasn't been appreciably updated in two years and sports an older version of the classic iPod UI, but not voice control or a camera. And the iPod touch includes what many, myself included, take to be the future of iPod UIs, one that is based on the iPhone (but, curiously, doesn't not include an integrated camera or voice control).

Sound like a mess? Welcome to the iPod family, circa late 2009. Sure, they're still the best digital media players around, for the most part. But it's getting harder to easily pick the right model, and with high-quality competition like the Zune HD coming, is it still the sure bet? Let's find out, and check out what Apple has on deck for this holiday season.

--Paul Thurrott
September 14, 2009