iPod ClassicThe iPod classic is the flagship ipod portable media player designed and marketed by Apple Inc.
To date, there have been six generations of the iPod classic, as well as a spin-off (the ipod photo) that was later re-integrated into the main classic line. All generations use a 1.8" hard drive for storage. The "classic" retronym was introduced with the introduction of the sixth-generation iPod classic on 5th Sept 2007; prior to this, iPod classics were referred to as iPods.
iPods with color displays use anti-aliasing graphics and text, with sliding animations. These iPods have five buttons and the later generations have the buttons integrated into the click wheel — a design which gives an uncluttered, minimalist interface.
The buttons are:
- Menu: to traverse backwards through the menus, and toggle the backlight on older iPods
- Center: to select a menu item
- Play / Pause: this doubles as an off switch when held
- Skip Forward / Fast Forward
- Skip Backwards / Fast Reverse
Other operations such as scrolling through menu items and
controlling the volume are performed by using the click wheel in a
rotational manner, while an additional Hold switch helps prevent accidental button presses. An iPod that has crashed or frozen can be reset by switching Hold on then off, then pressing Menu and Center (Menu and Play on the third generation iPod) for 6 seconds.
Operating system and firmware
The iPod's operating system is stored on its dedicated storage medium. An additional NOR flash ROM chip (either 1 MB or 512 KB) contains a bootloader program that tells the device to load its OS from the storage medium.
Each iPod also has 32 MB of RAM, although the 60 and 80 GB fifth generation have 64 MB. A portion of the RAM is used to hold the iPod OS loaded from firmware, but the majority of it serves to cache songs from the storage medium. For example, iPod could spin its hard disk up once and copy approximately 30 MB of upcoming songs into RAM, thus saving power by not requiring the drive to spin up for each song. Rockbox and iPodLinux offer open-source alternatives to the standard firmware and operating system, respectively.
Additional features
In March 2002, Apple added limited PDA-like functionality: text files can be displayed, while contacts and schedules can be viewed and synchronized with the host computer.
Some built-in games are available, including Brick (a clone of Breakout), Parachute, Solitaire and Music Quiz. A firmware update released in September 2006 brought some extra features to fifth generation iPods including adjustable screen brightness, gapless playback and downloadable games (available for purchase from the iTunes Store).
The first generation ipod classic had a 5 or 10GB storage capacity. It had a mechanical scroll wheel and was released on 23 Oct. 2001. The 5GB was priced at $399 and the 10Gb at $499. Battery life gave 10 hours of audio.
The second generation ipod classic had a 10 or 20GB of storage. The scroll wheel became touch sensitive and the firewire port had a cover. Battery life was still 10 hours of audio.It was released on 17th July 2002 and the 10GB was priced at $399 and the 20GB at $499.
The Third generation of the ipod classic had 10, 15, 20, 30 and 40GB of storage. This was the first complete redesign and incorporated an all-touch interface within a slimmer case and a dock connector. iTunes became the music download system. Prices ranges from $299 -$399 and $499. The battery life was 8 hours of audio. This version was released on 28th April 2003
The fourth generation of the ipod classic had 20 and 40GB of storage. The click wheel was taken from the ipod mini and the model released on 19th July 2004. The prices were $299 and $399. The battery life gave 12 hours of audio.
This was a premium version with colour screen and photo viewing. The prices ranged from $299 - $599 and it was release in Oct. 2004. The storage was 30 - 40 and 60GB for the photo. 20 and 60GB for color. The battery life gave 15 hours of audio or 5 hours of slide show.
The fifth generation was the 2nd full re-design of the classic ipod. It has a larger screen in a slimmer case and offers video playback. The color was either white or black. Storage was 30 - 60 and 80GB, with prices from $299 to $399. It was launched on 12th Oct 2005. The 30GB gave 14 hours of audio and 2 hours of video. 60-80GB gave 20 hours audio and 3-6.6 hours of video.
The sixth generation was where the name 'classic' was introduced. It has an anodised aluminium front plate and a new style interface. The color changed to silver. This is model was introduced on 5th Sept. 2007 with storage of either 80GB or 160GB. Priced at $249 and $349.
Battery life: 80GB is 30hrs audio and 5hrs video. 160GB is 40hrs audio and 7 hrs video.