The Roar Of Ipod Marketing Essay

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The flourishing technological invasions have eased human life in all dimensions. For each and every segment of life, there is a technological gadget for facilitation. The man's love for music is inevitable and several music electronics have been marched into consumer market till date. The need of premium music player had to be fulfilled for which Apple took initiative in 2001 by launching iPod. The product experienced great success and triumph soon after its launch as if the market was waiting for it. The sales of iPod reached zenith due to its elegance and spectacular portability option. [1] The purpose of this paper is to elucidate about the process of iPod's inception and induction into the consumer market. What was the sequence of events in its launch and how much time and cost factors played their roles? The market size of iPod and its dimensions are discussed along with its key benefits. In the last, improvements that could be healthy for iPod are elaborated.

iPod Inauguration

The finest portable music device was the need of music lovers all around the globe. Advancements in this field were made but still the product that would have captured the whole music realm had to be introduced. Apple was able to identify gap in the market and persuaded to fill the gap by coming up with something extraordinary. The late CEO of Apple Inc., Steve Jobs ordered hardware engineers of the firm to focus on the evident gap in the music sector and develop product precisely for it. The engineering unit was able to produce the product within a year. Apple manufactured first ever portable music device in 2001 and named it as iPod. [2] The response of customers towards this product was colossal. The durability, accessibility and handling of iPod were the best features in it. Moreover sound quality was excellent and the product was the best fit for consumers. The production quality was set according to the high standards as Apple believes in superlative products for its customers. [3] 

The software development for the product was not done by Apple Inc. entirely in the first place. Company gave the task to the third party for the software development of iPod. The internal space of the product was adequate in the launching years. Apple took care of the software of the product soon after acknowledging success. Modifications in the previous software versions were made to overcome shortcomings. The company introduced whole new range of iPods in 2007 along with new firmware. The major thriving years of iPod success started from 2007 as awareness in masses about this product increased by the spread of technological canvas. The conventional iPods were totally modified by bringing supreme changes; iPod touch was introduced in 2007 which took the iPod experience to the next level. It has been the cash cow for iPod product line in terms of sales and revenue generation. Till date, iPod is making great revenues for the company. [4] 

Time and Sequence of Events

The development of the first ever iPod took one year. There were several significant events in the queue that made huge impact in product's accomplishment. The fabrication of iPod was not exclusively done under Apple's production house, the engineering department had to made agreements with software and hardware development companies to have a look on the product and figure out its virtue and magnitude. Services of big software and hardware giants such as Portal Player and Pixo were taken by Apple. Both of the companies had previously produced exceptional products and have been consulting big firms like IBM. Apple controlled their position in the software and hardware development of iPod in 2007. The manufacturing cost of iPod was quite less and company set the price which brought great profits for them. [5] 

The patent issue was raised after inspecting iPod's sensation in the market. Apple applied for iPod's trademark and registration but several barriers and obstacles were laid. Apple got full licensing of the name and logo in 2005. The legal cases against Apple Inc. affected company's repute but Apple continued to pursue for the patent legality issue in sooth direction. [6] 

Market Size

The market of iPod is quite large and widespread. The major factor is the friendly user interface, durability, associability, strength, space, music experience and so much interesting stuff. The previous versions of iPod lacked innovational aspects but from 2007, iPod is the name of the game in portable musical devices. The dominating years of iPod started off from 2004 when portable music market was almost 90% under the influence of Apple. The inception of similar products affected sales of iPod but the difference element governed Apple's authority. The sales of iPod in 2007 showed that 72% of the market is captured by the company. The firm was able to make $7.1 billion in the respective year. The users of iPod have been increasing by the time as the company keeps track record of its product line range. [7] 

In 2008, company reported that 14% of the total sales of the company were due to iPod product range. IPods categorization has been beneficial for the company as every product comes up with its separate sales figures. As per the report circulated by the company in 2011, around 300 million iPods have been sold till now which makes Apple as the most successful company in selling music devices. The iPod touch sales are slightly higher and company has been calculating its revenues now. The major reasons are its separate dimensions and features. The access of Apple Store and purchasing of apps through iPod touch makes it elegant and distinguished from the usual iPod product range. [8] 

The yearly sales chart of Apple's iPod [9] 

Key Technical Component and Benefits

The elements and technical components that separate iPods from other music devices is the iPod experience. The strong and beautiful hardware with easy to use software makes it superior and finest available product in the market. The product can be divided into the touch interface iPod range and the non-touch iPod range. The non-touch iPod range has totally entire setup although the quality levels of technical aspects such as audio jack are the same. The iPod touch versions are designed by keeping in mind the iPhone experience. The iPod touch devices are almost the same as iPhone but they lack GSM and are slim in body. The software speed of iPod touch is fast and the slimness makes it marvelous. [10] 

The access of App Store from iPod touch is the major plus point. IPod touch is not an ordinary music device as it can perform thousands of other activities too. The features include web browsing via Wi-Fi, gaming and applications processing. Camera is also inserted in the later versions of iPod touch so that it would be the ultimate device to carry on with everyday endeavors. The success rate of iPod touch is higher because of the App Store access. More than 0.7 million applications and games can be purchased from the App Store which is the major plus point. People prefer iPod touch over versions of iPods because the price difference is very less and there are thousands of additional activities that can be easily performed on it. [11] 

Product Improvements

Apple's iPod seems perfect gadget for everyone as of its lenience factor. The room for improvement still lies in the product that can bring positive changes for the company's financial position. The chip inserted in iPod touch is usually the one which is already used in the previous versions of iPhone. The concept of inserting latest chips and boards in the hardware does not exist that affects sales. Customer compares iPhone's hardware component and match it with iPod and eventually figure out that iPhone is far better choice. The money even than comes into the pocket of Apple Inc. but decrease in sales play into action. iPod touches must be given the option to have GSM in it and for that case company should additionally charge. The slim and sleek design is perfect but having the advantage of GSM in slim iPod can really make the difference. Modifications in the fifth generation of iPod touch are done which are considerable and consumer's response will make the difference while calculating iPod sales this year.