People like to listen to music is a common thing. But to listen to music there are literally dozens of devices out there that can get the job done. Nowadays people just use their smartphones and get things done with them but some people still use iPod’s and mp3 players. A lot of people don’t know this but there actually is a difference between these two other than the name.
Some time ago people started to believe that an iPod and an mp3 player were exactly the same thing, mainly because they were starting to be seen as exactly the same thing, especially on the non-technical media. After all, they were both made for the same purpose and they are both pretty much incredibly popular.
iPod
Essentially, an iPod is a type of mp3 player. The major difference that there is between an iPod and an mp3 player is that an iPod is exclusive to the Apple company, and anything that doesn’t come out of the Apple company is not an iPod. As an alternative, there is the Microsoft Zune, for example.
Then there are the smaller differences. For example, an iPod cannot play songs on the .wma and .wmv formats, while most other mp3 players can. On top of that, the iPod does not have an SD card slot, while other mp3 players do so that the memory they have can be expanded.
On top of that, the iPod has the scrolling wheel, which is limited to itself. Other competitors cannot have this since the Apple company managed to get it before they did. This is something that gave the iPod a lot of popularity, the wheel was incredibly handy to scroll.
MP3
Most mp3 players have the FM radio feature while the iPod does not. This is something that could be very useful for users whenever they got bored of their own music or whenever they just wanted some company from the radio. Missing out on this wasn’t too positive for the iPod.
Moreover, music is usually loaded into mp3 players through a computer. This is how people used to build their own music library but then iPod had a huge advantage when it came to this: iTunes. iTunes was the first major music store online that provided users with very affordable prices. As such, it took off and for being associated with iTunes, iPod sales skyrocketed over other mp3 players.
Since music downloaded on iTunes doesn’t work on any other type of mp3 player except for the iPod, it is clear why it took off so well. After it took off, other manufacturers saw an opportunity to make some money and started producing accessories for the iPod.