Apple rolls out the iPod, eventually propelling the company to dominance in the digital-music field and changing the music industry forever.
Appleâ??s Steve Jobs, who tends to overuse superlatives (â??the best ever,â? â??itââ?¬â?¢ll put a ding in the universeâ?), was not far off the mark with the iPod. Despite some conspicuous flaws â?? a wonky scroll wheel, no Windows compatibility, short battery life and a whopping $400 price tag â?? this innocuous-looking device was indeed a game-changer.
The iPod was not the first MP3 player, but its simple interface and internal hard drive (which evolved to flash memory in later models) set a new standard. Another advantage was integration with the easy-to-use iTunes software. Later, support for Appleâ??s massive iTunes library provided iPod customers (Beatles fans excepted) with a vast trove of music to populate their players.
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