iPod is a brand of portable media players designed and
marketed by Apple
and launched
on . The product line-up includes the hard drive-based
iPod Classic, the touchscreen
iPod Touch, the video-capable
iPod Nano, and the compact
iPod Shuffle. The
iPhone
can function as an iPod but is generally treated as a separate
product. Former iPod models include the
iPod
Mini and the spin-off
iPod Photo
(since reintegrated into the main iPod Classic line). iPod Classic
models store
media on an internal
hard drive, while all other models use
flash memory to enable their smaller
size (the discontinued Mini used a
Microdrive miniature hard drive). As with many
other digital music players, iPods can also serve as external
data storage devices.
Storage capacity varies by model.
Apple's
iTunes software can be used to
transfer music to the devices from computers using certain versions
of Apple
Macintosh and
Microsoft Windows
operating systems. For users who choose not to use Apple's software
or whose computers cannot run iTunes software, several open source
alternatives to iTunes are also available. iTunes and its
alternatives may also transfer photos, videos,
games, contact information,
e-mail settings, Web bookmarks, and calendars to iPod
models supporting those features. The Apple iPod is the only device
compatible with iTunes, although select devices from
Archos are compatible. As of , more than 220,000,000
iPods had been sold worldwide, making it the best-selling
digital audio player series in
history.
History and design
The iPod line came from Apple's "digital hub" category, when the
company began creating software for the growing market of personal
digital devices. Digital cameras, camcorders and organizers had
well-established mainstream markets, but the company found existing
digital music players "big and clunky or small and useless" with
user interfaces that were "unbelievably awful," so Apple decided to
develop its own. As ordered by CEO
Steve
Jobs, Apple's hardware engineering chief
Jon Rubinstein assembled a team of engineers
to design the iPod line, including hardware engineers
Tony Fadell and
Michael
Dhuey, and design engineer
Jonathan
Ive. The product was developed in less than one year and
unveiled on 23 October 2001. Jobs announced it as a Mac-compatible
product with a 5 GB hard drive that put "1,000 songs in your
pocket."
Apple did not develop the iPod software entirely in-house, instead
using
PortalPlayer's reference platform
based on 2
ARM cores. The platform
had rudimentary software running on a commercial microkernel
embedded operating system. PortalPlayer had previously been working
on an IBM-branded MP3 player with
Bluetooth headphones. Apple contracted another
company,
Pixo, to help design and implement the
user interface under the direct supervision of Steve Jobs. As
development progressed, Apple continued to refine the software's
look and feel. Starting with the
iPod
Mini, the
Chicago font was
replaced with
Espy Sans. Later iPods
switched fonts again to
Podium Sans—a
font similar to Apple's corporate font,
Myriad. iPods with color displays then
adopted some
Mac OS X themes like Aqua
progress bars, and
brushed
metal meant to evoke a
combination
lock. In 2007, Apple modified the iPod interface again with the
introduction of the sixth-generation
iPod
Classic and third-generation
iPod Nano
by changing the font to
Helvetica and, in
most cases, splitting the screen in half by displaying the menus on
the left and album artwork, photos, or videos on the right
(whichever was appropriate for the selected item).
In September 2007, during the course of a lawsuit with
patent holding company Burst.com,
Apple drew attention to a patent for a similar device that was
developed in 1979.
Kane Kramer patented
the idea of a "plastic music box" in 1979, which he called the IXI.
He was unable to secure funding to renew the
US$ 120,000 worldwide patent, so it
lapsed and Kramer never profited from his idea.
Trademark
The name
iPod was proposed by Vinnie Chieco, a freelance
copywriter, who (with others) was called by Apple to figure out how
to introduce the new player to the public. After Chieco saw a
prototype, he thought of the movie
2001: A Space Odyssey and
the phrase "Open the pod bay door,
Hal!",
which refers to the white
EVA Pods of the
Discovery One spaceship. Apple
researched the trademark and found that it was already in use.
Joseph N.
Grasso of New Jersey
had originally listed an "iPod" trademark with the
U.S.
Patent and
Trademark Office in July 2000 for
Internet kiosks. The first iPod kiosks had
been demonstrated to the public in New Jersey in March 1998, and
commercial use began in January 2000, but had apparently been
discontinued by 2001. The trademark was registered by the USPTO in
November 2003, and Grasso assigned it to Apple Computer, Inc. in
2005.
Software
The iPod line can play several
audio
file formats including
MP3,
AAC/
M4A,
Protected AAC,
AIFF,
WAV,
Audible audiobook, and
Apple
Lossless. The iPod Photo introduced the ability to display
JPEG,
BMP,
GIF,
TIFF, and
PNG
image file formats. Fifth and sixth generation iPod Classics, as
well as third generation iPod Nanos, can additionally play
MPEG-4 (
H.264/MPEG-4
AVC) and
QuickTime video formats, with restrictions on video
dimensions, encoding techniques and data-rates. Originally, iPod
software only worked with
Mac OS; iPod
software for
Microsoft Windows was
launched with the second generation model. Unlike most other media
players, Apple does not support
Microsoft's
WMA
audio format—but a converter for WMA files without
Digital Rights Management (DRM) is
provided with the
Windows version
of iTunes.
MIDI files also cannot be played,
but can be converted to audio files using the "Advanced" menu in
iTunes. Alternative open-source audio formats, such as
Ogg Vorbis and
FLAC, are not
supported without installing custom firmware onto an iPod (e.g.
Rockbox).
During installation, an iPod is associated with one host computer.
Each time an iPod connects to its host computer, iTunes can
synchronize entire music libraries or music playlists either
automatically or manually. Song ratings can be set on an iPod and
synchronized later to the iTunes library, and vice versa. A user
can access, play, and add music on a second computer if an iPod is
set to manual and not automatic sync, but anything added or edited
will be reversed upon connecting and syncing with the main computer
and its library. If a user wishes to automatically sync music with
another computer, an iPod's library will be entirely wiped and
replaced with the other computer's library.
User interface

The iPod line's signature click
wheel
iPods with color displays use
anti-aliased graphics and text, with sliding
animations. All iPods (except the current
iPod Shuffle and
iPod
Touch) have five buttons and the later generations have the
buttons integrated into the click wheel—an innovation that gives an
uncluttered, minimalist
interface.
The buttons perform basic functions such as menu, play, pause, next
track, and previous track. Other operations, such as scrolling
through menu items and controlling the volume, are performed by
using the click wheel in a rotational manner. The current
iPod Shuffle does not have any controls on the
actual player; instead it has a small control on the earphone
cable, with volume-up and -down buttons and a single button for
play/pause, next track, etc. The
iPod
Touch has no click-wheel; instead it uses a 3.5" touch screen
in addition to a home button, sleep/wake button and (on the second
and third generations of the iPod touch) volume-up and -down
buttons. The user interface for the iPod touch is virtually
identical to that of the
iPhone. Both devices
use the
iPhone OS.
iTunes Store
The iTunes Store (introduced 29 April 2003) is an online media
store run by Apple and accessed via iTunes. Since no other portable
player supports the
DRM
used, only iPods can play protected content from the iTunes Store.
The store became the market leader soon after its launch and Apple
announced the sale of videos through the store on 12 October 2005.
Full-length movies became available on 12 September 2006.
Purchased audio files use the AAC format with added encryption. The
encryption is based on the
FairPlay DRM
system. Up to five authorized computers and an unlimited number of
iPods can play the files. Burning the files onto an audio CD, then
re-compressing can create music files without the DRM, although
this results in
reduced quality. The
DRM can also be removed using third-party software. However, in a
deal with Apple,
EMI began selling DRM-free,
higher-quality songs on the iTunes Stores, in a category called
"iTunes Plus." While individual songs were made available at a cost
of US$1.29, 30¢ more than the cost of a regular DRM song, entire
albums were available for the same price, US$9.99, as DRM encoded
albums. On 17 October 2007, Apple lowered the cost of
individual iTunes Plus songs to US$0.99 per song, the same as DRM
encoded tracks. On January 6, 2009, Apple announced that DRM has
been removed from 80% of the music catalog, and that it will be
removed from all music by April, 2009.
iPods cannot play music files from competing music stores that use
rival-DRM technologies like
Microsoft's
protected WMA or
RealNetworks'
Helix DRM. Example stores include
Napster and
MSN Music.
RealNetworks claims that Apple is creating problems for itself by
using FairPlay to lock users into using the iTunes Store. Steve
Jobs has stated that Apple makes little profit from song sales,
although Apple uses the store to promote iPod sales. However, iPods
can also play music files from online stores that do not use DRM,
such as
eMusic or
Amie
Street.
Universal Music Group decided
not to renew their contract with the iTunes Music Store on 3 July
2007. Universal will now supply iTunes in an 'at will'
capacity.
Apple debuted the
iTunes Wi-Fi
Music Store on 5 September 2007, in its Media Event entitled
"The Beat Goes On..." This service allows users to access the Music
Store from either an iPhone or an iPod Touch and download songs
directly to the device that can be synced to the user's iTunes
Library.
Games
Video games are playable on various
versions of iPods. The original iPod had the game
Brick (originally invented by
Apple's co-founder
Steve Wozniak)
included as an
easter egg
hidden feature; later
firmware versions
added it as a menu option. Later revisions of the iPod added three
more games in addition to
Brick:
Parachute,
Solitaire, and
Music Quiz.
In September 2006 the
iTunes Store
began to offer additional games for purchase with the launch of
iTunes 7, compatible with the
fifth generation iPod with iPod software
1.2 or later. Those games were:
Bejeweled,
Cubis 2,
Mahjong,
Mini
Golf,
Pac-Man,
Tetris,
Texas Hold 'Em,
Vortex, and
Zuma. Additional games have since
been added. These games work on current and immediate previous
generation of the iPod Nano and iPod Classic.
With third parties like
Namco,
Square Enix,
Electronic Arts,
Sega,
and
Hudson Soft all making games for the
iPod, Apple's MP3 player has taken great steps towards entering the
video game handheld console market. Even video game magazines like
GamePro and
EGM have reviewed and rated most
of their games as of late.
The games are in the form of
.ipg files, which
are actually
.zip archives in disguise. When
unzipped, they reveal executable files along with common audio and
image files, leading to the possibility of
third party games. Apple has not
publicly released a
software
development kit (SDK) for iPod-specific development. Apps
produced with the
iPhone SDK are
compatible only with the
iPhone OS on the
iPod Touch and iPhone, which cannot run clickwheel-based
games.
File storage and transfer
All iPods except for the iPod Touch can function in "disk mode" as
a
mass storage devices
to store data files. If an iPod is formatted on a Mac OS X
computer, it uses the
HFS+ file system
format, which allows it to serve as a
boot
disk for a Mac computer. If it is formatted on Windows, the
FAT32 format is used.
With the advent of the Windows-compatible iPod, the default file
system used on the iPod line switched from HFS+ to FAT32, although
it can be reformatted to either file system (excluding the iPod
Shuffle which is strictly FAT32). Generally, if a new iPod
(excluding the iPod Shuffle) is initially plugged into a computer
running Windows, it will be formatted with FAT32, and if initially
plugged into a Mac running Mac OS X it will be formatted with
HFS+.
Unlike many other MP3 players, simply copying audio or video files
to the drive with a typical
file
management application will not allow an iPod to properly
access them. The user must use software that has been specifically
designed to transfer media files to iPods, so that the files are
playable and viewable. Usually iTunes is used to transfer media to
an iPod, though
several
alternative third-party applications are available on a number
of different platforms.
iTunes 7 and above can transfer purchased media of the iTunes Store
from an iPod to a computer, provided that computer containing the
DRM protected media is authorized to play it.
Media files are stored on an iPod in a hidden folder, along with a
proprietary database file. The hidden content can be accessed on
the host operating system by enabling
hidden files to be shown. The media files can
then be recovered manually by copying the files or folders off the
iPod. Many third-party applications also allow easy copying of
media files off of an iPod.
Hardware
Chipsets and Electronics
| Chipset or Electronic |
Product(s) |
Component(s) |
| Microcontroller |
iPod Classic first to third generations |
Two ARM 7TDMI-derived CPUs running at 90 MHz |
| iPod Classic fourth and fifth generations, iPod Mini, iPod Nano
first generation |
Variable-speed ARM 7TDMI CPUs,
running at a peak of 80 MHz to save battery life |
| iPod Nano second generation |
Samsung System-on-a-chip, based around an ARM processor. |
| iPod Shuffle first generation |
SigmaTel STMP3550 chip that handles
both the music decoding and the audio circuitry. |
| Audio Chip |
All iPods (except the iPod Shuffle, 6G Classic and 2G
Touch) |
Audio Codecs developed by Wolfson Microelectronics |
| Sixth generation iPod Classic |
Cirrus Logic Audio Codec Chip |
| Storage Medium |
iPod Classic |
45.7 mm (1.8 in) hard drives (ATA-6, 4200 rpm with proprietary connectors) made
by Toshiba |
| iPod Mini |
25.4 mm (1 in) Microdrive
by Hitachi and Seagate |
| iPod Nano |
Flash Memory from Samsung, Toshiba, and
others |
| iPod shuffle and Touch |
Flash Memory |
| Batteries |
iPod Classic first and second generation, Shuffle |
Internal Lithium Polymer
Batteries |
| iPod Classic 3G onward, iPod Mini, iPod Nano, iPod Touch, |
Internal Lithium-Ion
Batteries |
| Display |
iPod nano |
2.2-inch (diagonal) color LCD with
blue-white LED backlight, 320x240 resolution at 204 pixels per inch |
| iPod classic |
2.5-inch (diagonal) color LCD with LED backlight, 320x240
resolution at 163 pixels per
inch |
| iPod touch |
3.5-inch (diagonal) widescreen
Multi-Touch, 480x320
resolution at 163 pixels per
inch |
Connectivity
Originally, a
FireWire connection to the
host computer was used to update songs or recharge the
battery. The battery could also be
charged with a power adapter that was included with the first four
generations. The third generation began including a 30-pin
dock connector, allowing for FireWire or
USB connectivity. This provided better
compatibility with non-Apple machines, as most of them did not have
FireWire ports at the time. Eventually Apple began shipping iPods
with USB cables instead of FireWire, although the latter was
available separately. As of the first generation iPod Nano and the
fifth generation iPod Classic, Apple discontinued using FireWire
for data transfer (while still allowing for use of FireWire to
charge the device) in an attempt to reduce cost and form factor. As
of the second-generation iPod Touch and the fourth-generation iPod
Nano, FireWire charging ability has been removed. The second and
third generation iPod Shuffle uses a single
3.5 mm jack which acts as both a
headphone jack and a data port for the dock.
The dock connector also allowed the iPod to connect to accessories,
which often supplement the iPod's music, video, and photo playback.
Apple sells a few accessories, such as the now-discontinued
iPod Hi-Fi, but most are manufactured by
third parties such as
Belkin and
Griffin. Some peripherals use their own
interface, while others use the iPod's own screen. Because the dock
connector is a proprietary interface, the implementation of the
interface requires paying royalties to Apple.
Accessories
Many accessories have been made for the iPod line. A large number
are made by third party companies, although many, such as the late
iPod Hi-Fi, are made by Apple. Some
accessories add extra features that other music players have, such
as sound recorders, FM radio tuners, wired remote controls, and
audio/visual cables for TV connections. Other accessories offer
unique features like the
Nike+iPod
pedometer and the iPod Camera Connector. Other notable accessories
include external speakers, wireless remote controls, protective
cases/films and wireless earphones. Among the first accessory
manufacturers were
Griffin
Technology,
Belkin,
JBL,
Bose,
Monster Cable, and
SendStation.
BMW released the first iPod automobile
interface, allowing drivers of newer BMW vehicles to control an
iPod using either the built-in steering wheel controls or the radio
head-unit buttons.
Apple announced in 2005 that similar systems
would be available for other vehicle brands, including Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, Nissan, Toyota, Alfa Romeo,
Ferrari
, Acura, Audi, Honda, Renault, Infiniti and
Volkswagen. Scion offers standard iPod connectivity on all
their cars.
Some independent stereo manufacturers including
JVC,
Pioneer,
Kenwood,
Alpine,
Sony, and
Harman Kardon also have iPod-specific
integration solutions. Alternative connection methods include
adaptor kits (that use the cassette deck or the CD changer port),
audio input jacks, and FM transmitters such as the
iTrip—although personal FM transmitters are illegal in
some countries. Many car manufacturers have added audio input jacks
as standard.
Beginning in mid-2007, four major airlines,
United,
Continental,
Delta, and
Emirates, reached agreements to install
iPod seat connections. The free service will allow passengers to
power and charge an iPod, and view video and music libraries on
individual seat-back displays. Originally
KLM
and
Air France were reported to be part
of the deal with Apple, but they later released statements
explaining that they were only contemplating the possibility of
incorporating such systems.
Audio performance
The third generation iPod had a weak bass response, as shown in
audio tests. The combination of the undersized DC-blocking
capacitors and the typical low-
impedance of most consumer headphones
form a
high-pass filter, which
attenuates the low-frequency bass output. Similar capacitors were
used in the fourth generation iPods. The problem is reduced when
using high-impedance headphones and is completely masked when
driving high-impedance (line level) loads, such as an external
headphone amplifier. The first
generation iPod Shuffle uses a
dual-transistor
output stage, rather than a single capacitor-coupled output,
and does not exhibit reduced bass response for any load.
From the 5th generation iPod on, Apple introduced a
user-configurable volume limit in response to concerns about
hearing loss. Users report that in the 6th generation iPod, the
maximum volume output level is limited to 100dB in EU markets.
Apple
previously had to remove iPods from shelves in France
.
Models
Patent disputes
In 2005,
Apple faced two lawsuits claiming patent infringement by the iPod line and
its associated technologies: Advanced Audio Devices claimed the
iPod line breached its patent on a "music
jukebox", while a Hong
Kong
-based IP
portfolio company called Pat-rights filed a suit claiming that
Apple's FairPlay technology breached a patent issued to inventor Ho
Keung Tse. The latter case also includes the online music
stores of
Sony, RealNetworks,
Napster, and Musicmatch as defendants.
Apple's application to the
United States Patent
and Trademark Office for a patent on "rotational user inputs",
as used on the iPod interface, received a third "non-final
rejection" (NFR) in August 2005. Also in August 2005,
Creative Technology, one of Apple's main
rivals in the MP3 player market, announced that it held a patent on
part of the music selection interface used by the iPod line, which
Creative dubbed the "Zen Patent", granted on 9 August 2005. On 15
May 2006, Creative filed another suit against Apple with the
United States District Court for the Northern District of
California. Creative also asked the
United States
International Trade Commission to investigate whether Apple was
breaching U.S. trade laws by importing iPods into the United
States.
On 24 August 2006, Apple and Creative announced a broad settlement
to end their legal disputes. Apple will pay Creative US$100 million
for a paid-up license, to use Creative's awarded patent in all
Apple products. As part of the agreement, Apple will recoup part of
its payment, if Creative is successful in licensing the patent.
Creative then announced its intention to produce iPod accessories
by joining the
Made for iPod program.
Sales

iPod quarterly sales.
Click for table of data and sources.
Note that Q1 is October through December of previous year, the
holiday season.
Since October 2004, the iPod line has dominated digital music
player sales in the United States, with over 90% of the market for
hard drive-based players and over 70% of the market for all types
of players. During the year from January 2004 to January 2005, the
high rate of sales caused its U.S. market share to increase from
31% to 65% and in July 2005, this market share was measured at 74%.
In January 2007 the iPod market share reached 72.7% according to
Bloomberg Online.
The release of the iPod Mini helped to ensure this success at a
time when competing flash-based music players were once dominant.On
8 January 2004,
Hewlett-Packard (HP)
announced that they would sell HP-branded iPods under a license
agreement from Apple.
Several new retail channels were
used—including Wal-Mart
—and these
iPods eventually made up 5% of all iPod sales. In July 2005,
HP stopped selling iPods due to unfavorable terms and conditions
imposed by Apple.
In January 2007, Apple reported record quarterly revenue of US$7.1
billion, of which 48% was made from iPod sales.
On 9 April 2007, it was announced that Apple had sold its
one-hundred millionth iPod, making it the biggest selling digital
music player of all time. In April 2007, Apple reported second
quarter revenue of US$5.2 billion, of which 32% was made from iPod
sales. Apple and several industry analysts suggest that iPod users
are likely to purchase other Apple products such as Mac
computers.
On 5 September 2007, during their "The Beat Goes On" event, Apple
announced that the iPod line had surpassed 110 million units
sold.
On 22 October 2007, Apple reported quarterly revenue of US$6.22
billion, of which 30.69% came from Apple notebook sales, 19.22%
from desktop sales and 26% from iPod sales. Apple's 2007 year
revenue increased to US$24.01 billion with US$3.5 billion in
profits. Apple ended the fiscal year 2007 with US$15.4 billion in
cash and no debt.
On 22 January 2008, Apple reported the best quarter revenue and
earnings in Apple's history so far. Apple posted record revenue of
US$9.6 billion and record net quarterly profit of US$1.58 billion.
42% of Apple's revenue for the First fiscal quarter of 2008 came
from iPod sales, followed by 21% from notebook sales and 16% from
desktop sales.
On 21 October 2008, Apple reported that only 14.21% of total
revenue for fiscal quarter 4 of year 2008 came from iPods.. At the
September 9, 2009 keynote presentation at the Apple Event, Phil
Schiller announced total cumulative sales of iPods had exceeded 220
million.
Industry impact
iPods have won several awards ranging from engineering excellence,
to most innovative audio product, to fourth best computer product
of 2006. iPods often receive favorable reviews; scoring on looks,
clean design, and ease of use.
PC
World says that iPod line has "altered the landscape for
portable audio players". Several industries are modifying their
products to work better with both the iPod line and the AAC audio
format. Examples include CD copy-protection schemes, and mobile
phones, such as phones from
Sony
Ericsson and
Nokia, which play AAC files
rather than WMA.
In addition to its reputation as a respected entertainment device,
iPods have also become accepted as business devices.
Government
departments, major institutions and international organisations
have turned to the iPod line as a delivery mechanism for business
communication and training, such as the Royal
and Western Infirmaries
in Glasgow
, Scotland
, where iPods are used to train new
staff.
iPods have also gained popularity for use in education. Apple
offers more information on educational uses for iPods on their
website, including a collection of lesson plans. There has also
been academic research done in this area in nursing education and
more general K-16 education. Duke University provided iPods to all
incoming freshmen in the fall of 2004, and the iPod program
continues today with modifications.
Criticism
Battery problems
The advertised battery life on most models is different from the
real-world achievable life. For example, the fifth generation
30 GB iPod is advertised as having up to 14 hours of music
playback. An MP3.com report stated that this was virtually
unachievable under real-life usage conditions, with a writer for
MP3.com getting on average less than 8 hours from an iPod. In 2003,
class action lawsuits were brought against Apple complaining that
the battery charges lasted for shorter lengths of time than stated
and that the battery degraded over time. The lawsuits were settled
by offering individuals either US$50 store credit or a free battery
replacement.
iPod batteries are not designed to be removed or replaced by the
user, although some users have been able to open the case
themselves, usually following instructions from third-party vendors
of iPod replacement batteries. Compounding the problem, Apple
initially would not replace worn-out batteries. The official policy
was that the customer should buy a refurbished replacement iPod, at
a cost almost equivalent to a brand new one. All lithium-ion
batteries eventually lose capacity during their lifetime
(guidelines are available for
prolonging life-span) and this situation led to a market for
third-party battery replacement kits.
Apple announced a battery replacement program on 14 November 2003,
a week before a high publicity stunt and website by the
Neistat Brothers. The initial cost was
US$99, and it was lowered to US$59 in 2005. One week later, Apple
offered an extended iPod warranty for US$59. For the iPod Nano,
soldering tools are needed because the
battery is soldered onto the main board. Fifth generation iPods
have their battery attached to the backplate with adhesive.
Reliability and durability
iPods have been criticized for their short life-span and fragile
hard drives. A 2005 survey conducted on the MacInTouch website
found that the iPod line had an average failure rate of 13.7%
(although they note that comments from respondents indicate that
"the true iPod failure rate may be lower than it appears"). It
concluded that some models were more durable than others. In
particular, failure rates for iPods employing hard drives was
usually above 20% while those with flash memory had a failure rate
below 10%, indicating poor hard drive durability. In late 2005,
many users complained that the surface of the first generation iPod
Nano can become scratched easily, rendering the screen unusable. A
class action lawsuit was also filed. Apple initially considered the
issue a minor defect, but later began shipping these iPods with
protective sleeves.
Allegations of worker exploitation
On 11 June 2006, the British tabloid
The Mail on Sunday reported that
iPods are mainly manufactured by workers who earn no more than
US$50 per month and work 15-hour shifts. Apple investigated the
case with independent auditors and found that, while some of the
plant's labour practices met Apple's Code of Conduct, others did
not: Employees worked over 60 hours a week for 35% of the time, and
worked more than six consecutive days for 25% of the time.
Foxconn, Apple's manufacturer, initially
denied the abuses, but when an auditing team from Apple found that
workers had been working longer hours than were allowed under
Chinese law, they promised to prevent workers working more hours
than the code allowed. Apple hired a workplace standards auditing
company, Verité, and joined the Electronic Industry Code of Conduct
Implementation Group to oversee the measures.
On 31 December 2006,
workers at the Longhua, Shenzhen
factory (owned by Foxconn) formed a union.
The union is affiliated with the world's largest and most powerful
federation of trade unions, the
All-China Federation of
Trade Unions.
See also
References
- Kahney, Leander. Straight Dope on the iPod's Birth,
Wired
News, 2006-10-17. Retrieved on 2006-10-30.
- " 2007 Engineer of the Year Finalist Michael Dhuey’s
Hardware Knowledge Helps Breathe Life Into iPod, TelePresence",
Design News, 24 September 2007.
- A History of the iPod: 2000 to 2004
- Boffey, Daniel Apple admit Briton DID invent iPod, but he's still
not getting any money Daily Mail, 2008-09-08. Retrieved on
2008-09-08.
- Serial No. 78018061, Registration No. 2781793, records of the
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. InPub, LLC, filed an "IPOD"
trademark on 1 June 1999, for "computer software and hardware." The
trademark was abandoned May 18, 2000, without commercial use.
- iPod Classic Technical Specs
- iTunes Downloads
- iTunes Music Store Catalog Tops One Million
Songs, Apple
Inc., 2004-08-10. Retrieved on 2006-12-28.
- Scott-Joynt, Jeremy. Apple targets TV and film market, BBC News, 2006-09-12.
Retrieved on 2006-09-12.
- Kanellos, Michael. Real's Glaser exhorts Apple to open iPod,
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External links