iPod makes a name for Apple while reaching sales milestone

Apple Inc. officially announced today that the 100 millionth iPod has been sold in just a little over five years; which, now confirms the obvious - it is the fastest selling music player in history. Surprisingly, the iPod has done more for Apple than previously suggested; it has actually re-branded their name, making it appear more “fresh” to the next generation crowd, a tactic which Apple has been trying to accomplish since the 90’s.

Officially launched in November 2001 as a Mac-compatible product that will put “1000 songs in your pocket,” the iPod was the industry’s answer to portable media players that were either too hard to operate or just too awkwardly large.

It was certainly a rough ride for the iPod in the first three years as sales were remarkably low and consumer adoption was falling behind.

In October 2004, shortly after the introduction of the iPod Mini and the fourth generation iPod, Apple dominated the digital music player industry capturing over 70% of the market for all portable media players; since then, Apple has increasingly sold more iPods every year to account for 100 million total sales today, with nearly half of all revenue being attributed to iPod sales alone.

“At this historic milestone, we want to thank music lovers everywhere for making iPod such an incredible success,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “iPod has helped millions of people around the world rekindle their passion for music, and we’re thrilled to be a part of that.”

Combined with 11 different models, over 4,000 accessories, and more notably, 70% of all U.S. 2007 model automobiles offering iPod connectivity, it’s no wonder why the iPod has won many awards ranging from engineering excellence to most innovative audio product.

“Without the iPod, the digital music age would have been defined by files and folders instead of songs and albums,” said John Mayer, GRAMMY Award- winning singer-songwriter and guitarist.

And what would the iPod be without the seamless integration of the iTunes application and the iTunes Store? Having sold over 2.5 billion songs, 50 million TV shows, and over 1.3 million movies, makes iTunes the world’s most popular online music, TV, and movie store.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the iPod, aside from the $3.4 billion in revenue per year, is the fact that the iPod has actually made a name for Apple; it’s a re-invention of the Apple image which just crys “I’m young, beautiful, and above all, just easy to use.”

Strangely enough, the iPod has done for Apple exactly what they’ve been trying to do since 1998, when they dropped the old name Macintosh and introduced the more personal and strangely colored iMac.

Apple Inc. saw their opportunity shortly after the iPod became widely popular, and decided to extend the new image across their line of personal computers; TV ads followed, matching a young, trendy kid (Mac) against an old, worn out man (PC).

With Apple computer sales remaining almost in direct proportion to iPod sales, one has to wonder if Apple’s favor in the computer industry can be attributed to their new name with the highly successful iPod.

But then again, it may simply be a result of Apple’s innovative attention to detail. Creating a clean and simple user experience has always been their trait; it’s no wonder why Apple has the highest brand and repurchase loyalty of any manufacturer.