The iPod is a portable media player designed and marketed by Apple (Apple Inc.) and launched on #dateformat:October 23, 2001. The product line-up includes the hard drive-based iPod Classic, the touchscreen iPod Touch, the video-capable iPod Nano, and the compact iPod Shuffle. The iPhone can function as an iPod but is generally treated as a separate product. Former iPod models include the iPod Mini and the spin-off iPod Photo (since reintegrated into the main iPod Classic line). iPod Classic models store media (multimedia) on an internal hard drive, while all other models use flash memory to enable their smaller size (the discontinued Mini used a Microdrive miniature hard drive). As with many other digital music players, iPods can also serve as external data storage devices (USB mass storage device class). Storage capacity varies by model, ranging from 2 GB for the iPod Shuffle to 160 GB for the iPod Classic.

Apples iTunes software can be used to transfer music to the devices from computers using certain versions of Apple Macintosh and Microsoft Windows (Microsoft Windows) operating systems. For users who choose not to use Apples software or whose computers cannot run iTunes software, several open source alternatives to iTunes are also available. iTunes and its alternatives may also transfer photos, videos, games (iPod game), contact information, e-mail settings, Web bookmarks, and calendars to iPod models supporting those features.