iPods were released in 2001 in anticipation that computer technology would lead to the development of widespread use of portable audio players that could play the digital audio files people had on their computers. While not significantly different in capability from the MP3 player, the iPod had the full marketing power of Apple Computers behind it. It took hardly any time at all for it to become wildly popular among the younger generations. It offered a tiny package that could hold a lot of music and for which a lot of accessories could be bought.

Nowadays the Apple iPod is available in a wide array of styles. There are models with video viewing screens as well as traditional audio-only players. In fact, the plain digital audio player remains the most popular of iPod forms. It consists mainly of a central control click wheel you manipulate to control your player with ease.

Some Apple iPod lines that remain popular are the Shuffle, Mini, and Nano. The Shuffle is a unique device, but the Mini is a much more portable device. The Nano is the most portable unit to date. All of these can also be used as data storage and transfer devices.

If you want to make use of your iPod, you will need Apple iTunes to make the format conversions to the proprietary iPod format. Apple iTunes is more than a simple file conversion tool. It is a music library management system for your computer. Increasingly it is becoming a total multimedia management system. The main idea behind the iPod and iTunes is to give people without many technical skills and without many computer skills the ability to quickly and easily make use of portable digital music technologies. Also, because the iPod is made by a major manufacturer with a reputation to uphold, Apple has worked hard to make sure the players work well and are free of defects.

In keeping with this ease of use idea, in many cases the iPods can have a rechargeable battery inside them that charges on the firewire or USB cable whenever the player is plugged into the computer. You use a docking station to connect your iPod to your computer or to external sound systems.

With the launch of the Apple iPod Shuffle, the 3.5mm headphone jack doubled as a data transfer port. With the launch of the Mini and Nano, no docking station is required for the devices to recharge themselves and be connected to your computer. Firewire connections do not exist on the newer models, but adapters are sometimes used so that older users will feel comfortable with their old firewire connections.

The available accessories for iPods are too numerous to even list anymore. Some of the most popular accessories are now even made by third-parties, in spite of the proprietary nature of the device. The popularity of the iPod can to a great extent be measured by just how many of these third-party accessories are now flooding the marketplace.

Many of these accessories are aimed at giving iPod users many of the newer features found on non-proprietary MP3 players. So now you can add things like FM radio tuners to your audio player via a third-party accessory. Personal sound recorder accessories are also wildly popular. Some people even use accessories that allow them to connect audio/video cables to their televisions. Others have added remote controls to their players. Among the more novel features that can be added is the accessory known as the Nike+iPod pedometer. As the name implies, this accessory turns your iPod into a pedometer. Many of the player enthusiasts are in constant anticipation about what cool new features they'll be able to find for their iPods in the near future.