IPOD ACCESSORIES REVIEW GUIDE - STEP ONE:
iTunes - THE Most Important Accessory for your iPod
Like hundreds of thousands of others, you have just opened your new iPod. Now, before you look at new headphones, or speakers or even a new carrying case, you need to get the most important iPod accessory ever made. It's imperative. Do not pass Go, do not collect $200, go straight to the source and get it. And best of all "it" is free. No charge - no spyware - no subscription fees...nada.
What is "it"? "It" is the newest version of the iTunes software from Apple. What does "it" do? It does a lot, but most importantly it syncs the music on your computer (PC or Mac) with the music on your iPod. Simply, quickly and beautifully.
Secondly, it allows you to easily integrate new music. Insert a music CD into your computer and iTunes asks if you want to import all the songs to you PC. And then it puts those same songs directly onto your iPod.
Thirdly, is what they call the "99 Cent Solution". And what a solution it is. Apple's new Music Store gave notice to the slow-poke record labels and illegal peer-2-peer file "sharing" services that there truly is a third alternative. 99 cents for any song. Revolutionary. With 20/20 hind-sight we can see that iTunes being named "Invention of the Year" was only too appropriate.
A Music Revolution:
It was a revolution to the music lover. The simplicity of the iTunes software + the engineering of the IPOD + the appeal of the iTunes Store where songs could be had for less than a buck a piece. Would it be a hit with the various demographics? Would it ever. People voted with their clicks and soon the iTunes Store had distributed over 1.5 Billion iTunes songs. iTunes Songs on your IPOD. A match made in heaven.
It is a disarmingly simple business plan: sell itunes songs online for less than a dollar and let the music lovers use them whenever they want, as many times as they want to. At first only available on the Mac, in October 2003, iTunes was made available to PC users, to a roaring success. Why did it work? Sarah McLachlan probably summed it up best when she said: "I'm a complete computer dummy. If I can use this, anyone can."
And use it they did. In the first 3 days after being made available to PC users, the iTunes software was downloaded over 1 million times, and these PC users downloaded over 1 Million iTunes songs. iTunes had shown the music industry how to win friends and still have a business on the very same Internet that was being used to pirate their songs.
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1.5 Billion iTunes Songs?
You might be wondering if you read that correctly, or if it was a typo of a hyped-up Editor. 1.5 Billion iTunes Songs. 1.5 Billion. iTunes. Songs. The math is astounding. Especially when you consider that the sale of iTunes songs is a break-even proposition for Apple. Of the 99 cents, it is estimated that 65 cents goes to the Music Labels (a lot more than they are getting from P2P services), and another 25 cents to the credit card companies. Another 10 cents in overhead, and you aren't left with many pennies for your profit. But iTunes drives the sale of IPODs. And the profit margin on IPODs is, well, healthy.
iTunes continues to be the leading legal distributor of songs online. Last year alone saw over 325 Million iTunes songs fly across the wires. Competitors are still trying to catch up, but it is a difficult battle to unseat the unchallenged leader. When the market leader is not in the business to make money online, when they are using their market superiority as a loss-leader to their highly acclaimed IPOD music player, just what are you going to do? As a consumer, the answer has become crystal-clear. Visit the Official Apple Store and click on "iPod + iTunes":
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iTunes Version 7.0.2
On Sept 12, 2006, Apple announced its iTunes software version 7 as "the most significant enhancement .. since it debuted in 2001." iTunes 7 includes new features such as the new album and coverflow views of music, TV shows and movies, allowing users to quickly find titles in their own collection as well as casually browse through at a leisurely pace. Movies are now also available at iTunes - including over 75 full length current run movies. Movies now become available on the iTunes site the same day they are released on DVD.
The iTunes Store features the world’s largest library of online music with over 3.5 million iTunes songs and has sold a stunning 1.5 billion iTunes songs, making it easily the world’s most popular digital music store.
iTunes continues to be the leading legal distributor of songs online. Last year alone saw over 325 Million iTunes songs fly across the wires. Competitors are still trying to catch up, but it is a difficult battle to unseat the unchallenged leader. When the market leader is not in the business to make money online, when they are using their market superiority as a loss-leader to their highly acclaimed IPOD music player, just what are you going to do? As a consumer, the answer has become crystal-clear - the first iPOD accessory is iTunes.
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IPOD ACCESSORIES REVIEW GUIDE - STEP TWO:
What to Buy (first)? Customizing your iPod
Ok, now you have your iPod + iTunes, right? If you've just skipped ahead, go back to Step One and get your iTunes software set up on your computer. Got it? Ok, NOW you are ready for Step Two.
Where do we start? It's just an iPod right? Wrong. Music is part of your life. It's more than just a statement. It's your personality. You will be taking your iPod everywhere. Let music play the role it was meant to play in your life. Believe it - your iPod needs to be customized to your lifestyle.
And the choices! Well, let's start with the modern conveniences to ensure a smooth fit for your iPOD into your lifestyle. And here's a tidbit of advice: skip "deal" finding on eBay, awash with poor quality after-market junk, and go straight to the source. The guys that just gave you the incredible software (Apple) also have a vast array of iPod Accessories for you to choose from.
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iPod Accessories - Armbands, Car Audio & Power
Do you jog? How about an Armband to hold your iPod.
Do you drive? Forget Satellite Radio with the subscription fees. Grab a Cassette adapter or an FM transmitter for your iPod, put it in an In-car iPod holder and take your music with you.
It's about control. You being in control of what you listen to. And on the topic of listening -- headphones. In-ear or full-size? Regular or - and these are the coolest - noise-canceling? Do you fly, or take the bus? Perhaps you work in a noisy office - these noise-canceling headphones have tiny microphones on the outside to listen to the ambient noise and they play the opposite sound waves to cancel out the sound. Don't understand that? Try a pair on and you won't care about this terrible explanation. You'll be amazed by the sound quality and wonder where everyone else in the room disappeared to.
You may not know it yet, but you will be listening to your iPod a lot. So you'll need some help with power. Car chargers, power adapters and battery packs -- all available to keep you powered up and dancing.
Now, to some fun. If everyone has an iPod, do you become part of the crowd? Dressed like one of the thousands in George Orwell's 1984? Grab a Case for your iPod and express yourself. The colors of the rainbow await and they are available in Leather, Sport or Fashion - heck they even have socks for your iPod. I kid you not. Knitted socks.
iPod Accessories - If These Are The Only iPod Accessory You Buy:
After you have had your iPod for a few days, your stereo will start to look like a black and white TV. You'll wonder what you'll do with the space when you take it down to Goodwill. But the cheap speakers that came with your computer were not made to handle the kind of music volume that your iPod needs - no wait - demands. So, if nothing else, if this is the only iPod Accessory you buy, if you only are limited to buying one iPod Accessory ..... buy Speakers.
Portable, desktop, wireless - at last count, there are 49 to choose from in the Apple Store. From $24.95 to $349.95, there's something for every budget and need. These aren't just speakers. There are multimedia systems here, dual-alarm clock radios, iPod boom boxes and more. But grab something like the JBL Creature II Speakers in black for $79.95 and you'll be soaking in lush and deep soundscapes. Amazing sound - it'll transform how you listen to music.
And that's really the point here. You thought you were just "getting an iPod". But combined with iTunes and other iPod Accessories, this is a life-changing technology that allows you to express who you are. Music for your life. Thank you Apple.
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