iPod Classic
The iPod Classic is a portable multimedia player with the original iPod design now in its sixth generation. The scroll wheel user interface, which helped make the iPod so popular, has remained relatively unchanged throughout the years. Added features such as color display, video playback and high storage capacity up to 120GB make this iPod STILL one of the most popular portable media devices on the market.
What does the iPod Classic stand for?
The classic iPod is the Cadillac of portable media players. Since its release, it revolutionized the interface between users and their media files with the introduction of the scroll wheel. This interface is still the cornerstone of the iPod line of products. Many features have been added and improved with the Classic throughout the years, and the fact that Apple keeps this model around (with all the other options) says something about its continued popularity.
The iPod classic isn’t the most technologically advanced media player in Apple’s line-up, however. And it certainly isn’t the smallest in the arsenal either. Its advantage is its unusually high storage capacity. Having a portable media player with 120GB of space is a bit excessive for most casual music and movie lovers. But for those looking for a portable player that has the capability of holding their entire collection, it’s the only choice. It’s no wonder that Apple markets this beast not just as a media player, but as a portable external hard drive for ALL your files.
Interface – Introducing the iPod scroll wheel
The scroll wheel and buttons were originally mechanical and while it boasted a superior user interface to other available mp3 players, it was still a bit clumsy. When the second generation iPod was released, the mechanical wheel was replaced by a touch sensitive version. In the third generation model, the still mechanical buttons became four touch sensitive buttons placed above the wheel. Not until the fourth generation did the iPod classic get the click wheel (first found on the iPod Mini and still used today), with the four buttons placed underneath the scroll wheel.
History
When the iPod was first released in October of 2001, it boasted 5GB of space with nearly 10 hours of battery time. Through the many years, there have been a number of features and technology advancements to this model. Today the iPod Classic has a storage capacity of up to 120GB and 40 hours of battery time for music playback. Here is a brief historical time line of this important media player model:
First Generation – October, 2001
5-10GB storage capacity
Second Generation – July, 2002
New touch scroll wheel
5, 10, 20GB storage capacity
Third Generation – April, 2003
Thinner design
New completely non-mechanical interface
10, 15, 20GB models shortly became 20, 40GB
Fourth Generation – July, 2004
Click wheel (from iPod Mini) integrated
iPod photo with color display released
Color display integrated into all classic models
20, 40, 60GB storage capacity
Fifth Generation – October, 2005
Unofficially called ‘iPod video’ included video playback
30, 60, 80GB storage capacity
Sixth Generation – September, 2007
Improved battery life: 40 hours (music), 7 hours (video)
80, 120GB storage capacity
A thicker 160GB model shortly released, but discontinued