iPod: A Genesis - Day 6

by Doina Stefanescu  |  June 5, 2008

Day 6: "Let us make iPod in our image...", Apple said.

In September 2007, Apple revealed a complete new iPod line, that matched everything their experience had taught them in consumer preferences.

The star of the line was the new iPod Touch, which resembled a lot the iPhone. Actually, it was just like an iPhone without the phone part and camera – it also run OS X, had 802.11n WiFi, and was a bit smaller than the iPhone. Despite the similarities, it surpassed the iPhone in one area: it was available in 16GB iPod touch versions, while the iPhone couldn't do more than 8 GB. The iPod touch is less than 1/3" thin at 8mm and sells for US$299 with 8 GB of flash memory, US$399 with 16 GB.

To make room for the new iPod Touch, the other members of the family had to be readjusted. The tradition full-sized iPod was renamed the iPod classic, a name for which Apple paid $1 million to use with the 1990 Macintosh Classic. The iPod Classic is the only hard drive based version of all iPods and Apple equipped it with a new interface that includes cover flow, a feature introduced with iTunes. The iPod classic is available in the highest capacity to date: 160 GB. The US$349 160 GB 6G iPod is only 0.53" (13.5mm) thick and weighs 5.7 oz. (162g). The less costly (US$249) 80 GB iPod classic is even thinner and lighter at 0.41" (10.5mm) and 4.9 oz. (140g).

Switching to the iPod nano, they changed it from a slim, brushed aluminum case to a wider, powder finished aluminum one to make some space for the new 320 x 240 very high resolution (204 dpi!) 2" display. Like it's older brother, the iPod classic, it has cover flow and it's the first iPod nano that can be used to watch videos or play games. The new nano is shorter and wider than it's predecessor (2.75" x 2.05"/70 x 52mm vs. 3.55" x 1.6"/90 x 40mm) but just as thin. The video nano is available in two capacities, 4 GB and 8 GB, and five colors: light gray, dark gray, light green, light teal, and [RED].

The littlest of them all, would be the third generation iPod shuffle, which looked a lot like the 2G iPod shuffle it had replaced. The difference was the finish, which is a powdered aluminum rather than brushed aluminum. The five colors available are light gray, light teal, light purple, light green, and [RED]. As before, there's only one capacity - 1 GB, enough to store 240 songs on average. Like the model it replaces, it retails for US$79.

Some other modifications were made by Apple and not all were about hardware improvements. Apple discontinued the 4 GB iPhone while slashing the price of the 8 GB model by $200 to US$399, announced the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store for the iPhone and iPod touch, and began selling ringtones for the iPhone for US$1.98.

On February 2008, Apple made the next step, when they added new, higher capacity versions of the iPhone and iPod touch. Each doubles capacity at a US$100 price premium, so the 16 GB iPhone retails for US$499 and the 32 GB iPod touch also lists at US$499.

Next articles in this series:

1. Day 1: Let there be iPod
2. Day 2: Separating iPod from others
3. Day 3: The iPod world received colors
4. Day 4: The iPod stars
5. Day 5: iPod flora & fauna
6. Day 6: "Let us make iPod in our image...", Apple said
7. Day 7: And Apple rested..., or not?

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