Not so long ago, portable music systems allowed you to play your music on the move. But today, you can actually ‘carry’ your music collection!
Welcome to world of the iPod.

Background
Although Steve Jobs returned to the struggling Apple Computers in 1997, it was 2001 by the time engineers at Apple started designing the portable digital music player.

Christened the iPod, this music player was a hit from day one. Going from strength to strength, Apple sold 733,000 iPods during 2004 Christmas season!

With no sign of iPod sales slowing down, we could say that we are on the brink of the era of the iPodised society.

Customized Play Lists – Future of Mass Media Services
If there ever was a product, which has hit the sweet spot of the consumer, it was the iPod. Suddenly ubiquitous, the iPod has become something much much more: icon, pet, status indicator and an indispensable part of one's life.

Music being an emotional subject, it is not surprising that iPod owners have an intense relationship with their iPods. Obsessed with their gizmos, they talk incessantly about play lists & grumble about software glitches & battery life!

iPods and other ‘me too’ brands give 3 million owners access to their entire collection of songs & CDs. Along with membership into an (implicit) society that's transforming music into a media service.

More importantly, iPods are showing the way mass media services will be consumed in the future.

Podcasting – the New Digital Radio

The iPod has also given rise to the new phenomenon that is sweeping the web - podcasting.

Podcasts are audio files created to be distributed over the Internet, which are usually available for free (encoded in MP3 format).

With podcasting, iPod owners can tune into what anyone with a mic, computer and Internet connection has to say or play. At a time & place of his choice. And the coolest part is the software: you can subscribe to podcasts and have new shows automatically transferred, even while you sleep!

Podcasting is going places – BBC has announced a podcasting venture; while a New York radio station is offering On-The-Media as a Podcast. You can listen to Podcast on your iPod, Treo, Palm, mobile phone and of course your PC or laptop.

Cool Icon
The iPod is a live example of using mass media infrastructure to narrowcast to an audience of one! (With revenue tracking based on ARPU.)

Considered as the future of mass media, is it any wonder that the iPod is the coolest brand icon of today?