20-09-2017, 01:33 PM
The iPod Shuffle (stylized and marketed as iPod shuffle) is a digital audio player designed and marketed by Apple Inc. It was the smallest model of the Apple iPod family, and was the first iPod to use flash memory. The first model was announced at the Macworld Conference & Expo on January 11, 2005; the latest fourth-generation model was introduced on September 1, 2010. The iPod Shuffle was discontinued by Apple on July 27, 2017.
The iPod Shuffle was announced at the same time as the Mac Mini. Like the iPod Shuffle, the Mac Mini is a scaled-down product that has been introduced at a lower price. These two products together can be seen as a conscious effort by Apple management to target a low-end market and increase visibility in the mass market. Earlier, the success of Apple's iPod and especially the iPod Mini had been tearing the market for low-cost flash players, causing flash players in early 2005 to account for less than half the market share they made in 2004. However, the mini iPods were expensive and the Shuffle was meant to make the iPod compete with top players.
In April 2005, by the end of Apple's fiscal second quarter, iPod Shuffle had already proved to be a successful product for its manufacturer. Although Apple has decided not to specify how many iPod Shuffles were sold in the first three months of the product's existence, Piper Jaffray analysts estimated that 1.8 million of the 5.3 million iPods sold in the second quarter were Shuffles. The NPD Group estimates that the iPod Shuffle captured 43 percent of the flash-based music player market in February 2005, after only its second month of existence. In March 2005 the market share of the iPod Shuffle had risen to 58%.
The iPod Shuffle was announced at the same time as the Mac Mini. Like the iPod Shuffle, the Mac Mini is a scaled-down product that has been introduced at a lower price. These two products together can be seen as a conscious effort by Apple management to target a low-end market and increase visibility in the mass market. Earlier, the success of Apple's iPod and especially the iPod Mini had been tearing the market for low-cost flash players, causing flash players in early 2005 to account for less than half the market share they made in 2004. However, the mini iPods were expensive and the Shuffle was meant to make the iPod compete with top players.
In April 2005, by the end of Apple's fiscal second quarter, iPod Shuffle had already proved to be a successful product for its manufacturer. Although Apple has decided not to specify how many iPod Shuffles were sold in the first three months of the product's existence, Piper Jaffray analysts estimated that 1.8 million of the 5.3 million iPods sold in the second quarter were Shuffles. The NPD Group estimates that the iPod Shuffle captured 43 percent of the flash-based music player market in February 2005, after only its second month of existence. In March 2005 the market share of the iPod Shuffle had risen to 58%.