Apple's iPod Turns Five With Record Sales and Growing Rivals

Apple's iPod celebrated its fifth anniversary on 23 October 2006, five years after the California company first introduced the compact music player in 2001.

Sales remain strong: Apple reported shipping more than eight million iPods in its most recent fiscal fourth quarter, a 35 percent jump compared with the same period a year earlier.

The device has broadened its appeal over the years through compatibility with Windows computers and through the 2003 launch of the iTunes online store, which lets users purchase and download music directly to the player.

Media researcher Michael Bull of the University of Sussex calls the iPod the "first cultural icon of the 21st Century," citing its wide social influence.

Competition is intensifying, however. Microsoft announced in September that its Zune MP3 player would go on sale in US stores on 14 November, presenting a direct challenge to the iPod's dominance of the portable music market.

Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in October 2006, in its own words.