iPod Rules The Market

iPods rule the portable music business. Why? Apple has been out in front with innovation, from portable hard drives to the iTunes digital music service. Also, Apple has the marketing savvy to keep updating the line with new advances that instantly make their old players obsolete. Today, Apple has simplified its line to three types of iPod: * The iPod -- Comes with storage of 30GB or 60GB. This iPod has a brilliant color screen for showing videos and photos, as well as album covers and navigation. The bigger model can hold up to 15,000 songs or 150 hours of video on its hard drive. These iPods sell for $299 and $399, although they can often be found slightly cheaper online. * iPod Nano -- A shrunken version of the Ipod, the Nano holds up to 1,000 songs in a package roughly the size of a credit card. It has a 1.5-inch color screen, but doesn't do video like its big brother. There are three models of Nano, ranging from $149 to $249 retail. * iPod Shuffle -- The shuffle is Apple's Flash-based player. It has much smaller capacity -- up to 240 songs in a package roughly the size of a pen. But it can take much more of a pounding than a hard-drive based player. Shuffles are much less expensive, retailing for $69 and $99.