The i-Pod as we all know is one of, if not the biggest portable media displayer available on the market today. First released in 2001 with 5 gigabytes of memory which was an unheard of amount, it took the world by storm and launched the already well known Apple to new corporate heights.

This classic version has now undergone five updates and re-releases and is therefore in its sixth generation. The release of the latest version puts into perspective just how far the ipod has come from the 5 gigabyte model which only supported mp3 files.

This sixth generation ipod comes with either 80 or 160 gigabytes of memory and supports pretty much any file format. It can play back images, games and videos and due to the vast amount of memory available, it can also be used as a portable hard drive to store anything on.

Over the last few years there have been different models of the ipod, the first of which (apart from the classic of course) was the ipod mini. This was the first to be available in multi-colours and was much cheaper than the classic version and so for a while, ipod minis were to be found everywhere.

Just before the nano came and made the mini redundant, the ipod shuffle came about. This was basically a much cheaper version of the classic and mini ipod so that everyone could afford one. The reason it is so much cheaper is because for one, it doesnt have a screen so therefore it is much cheaper to mass-produce, and also it has a smaller storage capacity and can only play songs (obviously. Without a screen it would be hard to see videos or images.)

The most recent version to hit the shelves is the ipod touch. This looks quite similar to the iphone and uses a similar interface. In fact, some have said that the only difference between the ipod touch and the iphone is that you cant make phone calls on the ipod touch. There are some more subtle differences than that, but I would say that is a fair analogy.

Over the last eight or so years weve seen the ipod evolve to heights that werent thought possible when it was first released. With over 173,000,000 sold world wide it is the most popular portable media device on the market, and arguable the best.