Since its launch in 2001, the iPod as you knew it then has far improved. There have been different generations since then and there have been many different types of iPods too. It's like there's a different iPod for every type of person and for every size of budget.

The Current iPod Lineup

Let's start with a bang then. Let's start with iPod Touch. Unlike the other iPods, it uses the touch feature just like iPhones. You don't have to use the click wheel. Navigating iPod Touch only takes taps here and there and sliding a finger over the screen. If that's not cool enough, what is?

And the iPod Touch still gives you the bang when it comes to features. Like the usual iPod, you have music and video on it. But it does have more to offer. It is Wi-Fi enabled so you can have internet too. With internet capability, you get to watch videos on YouTube. You can also buy music from iTunes store and have songs downloaded straight to your iPod Touch.

You also currently have the iPod Classic. The iPod Classic of today can store up to 400,000 songs. Wow! Those are a lot of songs. I bet you won't even be able to listen to all of them in a week and not even in a month. Alternately, you can also carry with you up to 200 hours of video. That would be a of lot videos than you have time for. But it's cool to have so many choices, right?

Now if you want things in small packages, your choice would be the iPod Nano. It's small but you can still listen to music and watch videos, podcasts and TV shows on it.

And of course, there's the iPod Shuffle. Well, it doesn't have a screen so it's not video capable. But if music and maximum portability is what you're after, this is it for you. You can have quality music in such a very, very small thing. You merely have to clip it anywhere, in your belt or anywhere in your clothing, and you'll have music with almost no additional weight.

A Little History on iPod

The first iPod classic was released in October 2001. It only had 5GB memory and it had a mechanical scroll wheel. What followed was the 2nd generation iPod with 10 GB memory and a touch sensitive wheel. The third generation was where a major redesigning was made. Everything was navigated through the touch interface and the casing became slimmer.

The 4th generation came with a click wheel and then it became colored. It became possible to store and view pictures in it. Then the fifth generation iPod came. It was video enabled. It had larger screens than the previous one. But it was not until the 6th generation iPod when the word "Classic" was added to its name. The interface became better and became what it is now.

There used to be iPod minis too but they were replaced by what we now know as iPod Nano. Aside from that you have the iPod Shuffle which are for music only. And last year came iPod Touch, which was probably the most modern. Finding out about the succession of the different types of iPods really makes you appreciate iPod more.