Music lovers have been carrying around radios and other bulky music devices in order to take their tunes along with them as they go from place to place. With the iPod ? a portable unit that's manufactured by Apple ? the music experience offers a higher quality in a much more compact size.

The iPod will allow your personal music selection to be played for up to 12 hours at a time, and offers the additional perks of games and the ability to store files. Up to 5,000 songs can be stored within a standard iPod, providing instant access from wherever you happen to be at the moment. Whether you're in the office, going for a stroll, in the car or around the house, iPod is the solution for your contemporary music needs.

Among the features of the iPod are the ability to choose a specific play list, shuffle through songs and much more ? all with the click of a button. Users even have the option of importing their favorite songs from CDs, and music can be transferred in a variety of formats, such as MP3 or AAC. If you opt for the FireWire and USB 2.0 support, you can transfer music from a CD in less than five seconds.

The capability of the iPod also includes that of calendaring, contact lists, notes and a musical alarm clock variation that will wake you up to your favorite song in the morning. With the ability to carry up to 30GB of storage (in some models), this little unit can be used for far more than just music. Think of it as an electronic briefcase of sort. Files can be taken anywhere at any time; memos can be used as reminders to yourself; even interviews can be accomplished when using the microphone option, with the ability to then utilize those audio files in a documentary format.

For those who have the need of menu items in another language, the iPod accommodates settings for English, Italian, German, Spanish, French, Japanese, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Swedish, Finnish, Korean, Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese. In fact, there are a number of iPod models, such as iPod mini, iPod, iPod Special Edition and iPod Photo. Depending upon its capabilities, each comes with a designated amount of memory, beginning with the 4GB mini iPod to the 30GB iPod Photo.

In addition to the device itself, the iPod offers a complete line of accessories, including a dock kit, camera connector, power adapter, car cassette adapter, auto charger, FM transmitter, travel pack, car holder, media reader, in-ear headphones, voice recorder, cabling and more.

All in all, if your day isn't complete without music ? and you could also use the ability to transfer files, check your calendar, keep a contact list and do other office-related functions in a portable capacity ? then the iPod would be a good investment for you. Prices may vary, depending upon the retailer and model type, but these can easily be purchased via the internet for those who don't mind a brief search engine task.

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© 2006Simon Canfield - All Rights Reserved

Simon Canfield is a hi-tech enthusiast and freelance author.

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