Apple's iPod: A Product Review

It's amazing that a mere year and a half ago I actually lived without you. I walked around, breathed, talked, and occasionally even smiled, all that despite the fact that you were not a part of my life. Even more amazing yet, that I actually lived long stretches of my life, sometimes hours, without the accompaniment of a musical soundtrack. I would walk places, cook things, wait in line at the store, and do many other things completely devoid of any music. But now, thanks to you, iPod; every time I make toast, sit in a moving vehicle, or get the mail; I'm doing so to the soundtrack of my life.

Your sleek, sophisticated design, complimented nicely by a silicone case, makes you as easy on the eyes as you are on the ears. But, as the old cliché goes, it's not about what you have on the outside; it's about what's on the inside. You're insides are beyond my comprehension in their technological mastery, all I know is that you somehow manage to hold 2,500 of my songs and allow me to play them at any time. How you do this, I have no idea. But it's one of the few guarantees in my life. You allow me to play those songs in a variety of ways; by album, artists, "on-the-go" playlists that I create myself, and in my favorite mode, which is the glorious shuffle.

With the shuffle comes a duality of musical certainty. I am uncertain about what song is coming next, but since they are all my songs, I am certain that it will be a song I enjoy. I don't know if it will be Jay-Z or Tom Waits, and I like that, it's like having a DJ who plays only your records. If only you could cram a television in their too. Oh, that's right, you can.

But it's not your video that I truly admire, no, to be honest I watch enough TV as it is and have no desire to watch it on a tiny screen while on the move; but your podcasts? Now that's a thing of beauty. As an impending graduate school student I have been nervously anticipating my return to the world of intelligentsia. The last few years of my life have been more "Maxim," than "New Yorker," and the time came to change that. What better way than to listen to lectures from college's across the world? Throw in a couple NPR shows and all of the sudden I'm using words like "ostensible," and "hegemony" sans restraint. Without podcasts, much of this information would not be available to people in my situation, and I would be forced to buy, and read, many books instead of subscribing to podcasts for no charge.

So, thank you, iPod; thank you simply for being created. I know in a few years something new will come along and you'll be obsolete, but to me you'll always be the one. Your sister, Nano; yeah she's hot. But she's too skinny for me.