Ipod History

Executive Summary - Apple's Ipod might not be the first MP3 player that has hit the shelves, but it has proven the most successful. MP3 players can be considered a relatively new product generally but in the world of technology, it could be considered outdated.

Overview - The Ipod is an MP3 player, but not just an MP3 player; it has become the world's leading MP3 player ever manufactured. (Smart Inventions 2008) While all MP3 players download music, Apple went another step and programmed their products to only accept downloads from its exclusive download service, ITunes. (Apple 2009)

Ipod's First Stage - The first stage of any product, including the Ipod, is the phase of product development. This is considered a critical stage, as the research pertaining to the product is performed. This process is called New Product Development or NPD. NPD has two parallel paths that bring the idea to fruition; they are idea generation and marketing analysis. These two functions advise the company if this is a product that the consumer truly wants and if so, how can we make it better?

In the 1970s 8-track tapes were very popular. Would it be feasible for a company today to market 8-track tapes and would the venture be profitable? Not likely, as the 8-track tapes of the 1970s were bulky and were poor in quality. To bring this product would not be a cost effective venture.

To advise if Apple should move forward with its Ipod, Beta testing, also known as market testing, was performed. Apple produced prototype is produced and through the use of focus groups, the product is tested on the public to view the reaction.

Apple already knew that the public was interested in such a product but will the public purchase the Ipod when there are so many competitors for such a product? What changes need to me made? During this process, these questions are answered.

Through consumer testing, the company can make changes such issues as bulkiness, weight, poor reception issues and other issues in relation to the product. Another prototype will be produced and tested again until the company feels secure in the analysis and results.

Idea Marketing - After Apple produced the product, the next life cycle is the idea marketing stage. This where Apple initiated the product's initial marketing stage. During this time the costs are generally high and the sales volume is often low. Why? When any product is first introduced, the company, in this case Apple, needed to recoup its research and development costs. With many competitors, how did Apple promote this product? Through free music downloads from its Apple ITunes service. All songs downloaded on this service can only be played on the Ipod. Ingenious marketing of partnership.

Ipod's Second Stage - The second stage is the growth stage. During this stage Apple reduced