A few weeks ago Apple unveiled the iPhone 5 to the world. You most probably have been living away from civilization if you were not aware of that piece of information. The iPhone 5 has sold millions (5 million in total on the first weekend of the device being available to the world) and does not contain any real surprises. What is of interest is that the new generation iPods have seemingly gone under the radar without too much hoopla.
Remember until 2 years ago, the iPod was critical to Apple’s financial success. However it seems that the baton has been passed on to the iPhone and iPad as being central to Apple’s success. When the announcement was made regarding the new generation iPod the immediate observation was – “wow, the design is terrible”. Having given it a few days of thought – I think the truth is that Apple is slowly blurring the lines between the iPod touch and iPhone. The latest generation iPod touch is also available in multiple colours which is a first. Previous generations were only in Black or White but now multiple colours are available.
The iPod nano is without a doubt the range that has had the biggest transition. A much larger screen is now found on the nano, giving the impression that Apple is going to create some functionality to create a watch from the nano range.
Is the iPod still relevant? I am of the opinion it is, but increasingly one wonders whether ultimately, the iPod nano and touch could be replaced with a lower specification iPhone? I believe that Apple will always have the iPod range around as it is the first manner in which people get into the Apple culture. Buy an iPod, download iTunes and over time upgrade to an iPhone or iPad seems to be the progression.
So is the iPod, the forgotten child in the Apple family?
