Apple We Close Chapter Together

Launched in 2001, the iPod has a history of more than two decades and is the longest-lived among Apple products. In terms of technology products, it's really a bit backward and exhausted. Who would want to buy one today?

In fact, the existing model Touch is an iPhone without a phone. It is a waste to only use it to listen to songs. Compared with other iPad models, I feel that the screen is too small and not fun enough, so I can only close this chapter. Honestly, in business, why not keep the Nano when the iPod was retired back in the day? I was really going to stick with the Nano, it's small, has a color screen, has a built-in radio, step counter, and supports wireless headphones, which is just right.

When the iPod first came out, there were other mp3 players, many of which were the size of a row of chewing gum, with a capacity of about 100Mb, which was only enough to store a dozen songs. Compared with the Walkma, which was quite popular at that time, it was only a little bigger. Smaller and lighter. The iPod advertised that it can store a thousand songs, and the simple design, easy operation, immediately became a topic. However, it needs to upload song files through iTunes software, of course, only the Mac version, so many people can only wait and see.

At that time, it was also the era of the mp3 boom. People searched and downloaded music on the Internet through file sharing software, and they could have it at their fingertips. Apple has long been connected with several major album releases. Users can purchase and download music through iTunes. They can also buy only single songs without buying the entire album. Now it seems that it is a move to re-regulate and reorganize the order. But this reason also made many musicians reject Apple's agency rights, including superstars such as The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, The Eagles, The Rolling Stones, Metallica, etc., all of them insisted on selling only in album form, compressed files for various reasons. Poor sound quality, Apple's low profit return, resistance to "digitalization", etc. Their work is not sold in the Apple Store.

When I live in Canada, I mostly drive my own car. The CD player can also play mp3 files, and there is also a plug to connect to an iPod, which provides certain convenience for long-distance travel. Later, I changed jobs and took public transportation. The ideal time to listen to music is still the best time on the way. Although the mobile phone already supports playing mp3, the effect is not satisfactory, and the management software is not satisfactory, so the decision has not been made. Apple's most sensible decision at the time was to launch a Windows version of iTunes, which even other PC users could enjoy. When iTunes launched the display of the rotating record jacket, I was delighted to download it and try it out on a personal computer. Music Archive, was immediately convinced that this was my cup of tea. After reorganizing all the music and multimedia files, and entrusting them to iTunes, I decided to buy an iPod Shuffle.

Before, the music files purchased on iTunes were all in m4p (purchased version of m4a) mode, which could not be converted to other modes, which was not convenient, and the files at that time were all 128bit, and the sound was only qualified. Over the years, digital technology has been continuously improved, and people have become more and more accepting of the impression of digital music, norms have also been counted, and many restrictions have been opened one by one. The group of musicians mentioned above have made compromises one after another. Among them, The Beatles is the most striking. In addition to the settlement of each other's lawsuits, the record company has also made a grand event to re-issue the full set of The Beatles catalogue. Models of the iPod that have a screen also go into color and can even view video.

My iPod Shuffle had only 1 Gb capacity at that time, but it was small and easy to operate, and the design of the clothes, you can freely put the Shuffle on the shirt, belt or pants pocket, I even questioned why this design is not used in other models. My only complaint is that there is no way to know the status of the battery, and many times it is only on the way to know that the power is low. Later, when its price was lowered, I bought another one. At that time, Apple also joined the ranks of "Red" products and launched a red iPod product, which supported me with enough reasons to buy one more. After using it for many years, it has always been safe and sound. It was not until I returned to Hong Kong in 2009 that I noticed that the open-back earphones are completely useless in the environment of Hong Kong. In addition, they were often forcibly pulled off because the wires were hooked. Think of using wireless (Bluetooth) earphones.

I checked the Internet and found that the iPod Nano supports bluetooth earphones. I bought it very excitedly. It can be regarded as my most satisfied Apple product. Why not design with clothespins. However, being too light has become the cause of its death. A negligence, forgetting to take out the clothes before washing, and reimbursement for this, is really heartbreaking. And just after they discontinued Nano and Shuffle, it is no longer possible to buy another one. Even though eBay and some foreign places are still selling them, but buying cattle from across the mountain, some are still second-hand, and I don't plan to take the risk.

In recent years, more and more people work from home, and they all listen to songs on the computer, and those iPod Shuffles are gradually becoming obsolete. Even if they can be operated as usual, the new software is no longer supported. Sighing is useless, how many people will use another device to listen to songs, but there may still be sales points for high-end routes, such as Sony's high-definition Walkman, which costs over 10,000 yuan and more, and is definitely not something for ordinary people. , The next best thing is to listen to songs on the phone.