(April 5, 2006) — “Another iPod, already?” This confused question comes from the mouths of thousands of consumers three to four times a year. The new iPod instantly becomes a must-have device and trounces the competition while “revolutionizing” the industry. At least that’s what consumers think. These constant revisions bring questions, like, “What’s that going to do for me?” Though sure a revision of a product every once in a while is good, but constant revisions from Apple are truly holding the industry back rather than moving it forward, the greatest example being the iPod. The original iPod was truly revolutionary: A product that played MP3s, had a screen and a hard drive. The product was the first of its kind and brought a new level of storage to the portable media market. From that one truly revolutionary product over years came revisions, a lot of them. Slap a color screen on the device and it’s revolutionary. Give it more space, and it’s revolutionary. Make it smaller and it’s revolutionary. Yet, essentially through all these revisions the device has remained relatively the same. Sure it has gotten a color screen, sure it has gotten more space and sure it has gotten smaller yet the whole device is still essentially the same device released in October of 2001. So what should Apple do? How about take a risk with their perfect device and release something truly innovative. Maybe they should change the physical interface of the device instead of simply tuning it. Though it’s likely Apple will not make this change soon, it is inevitable. So many devices have copied the style and interface Apple has made standard; sooner or later to protect their own corporate image they will need to stomp the competition and remind other companies why the iPod is a device to be feared. Apple has made steps towards this change especially with the fifth generation iPod. The device adds video capability and a more seamless interface. It’s good but still it is essentially a tuned-up version of a device released in 2001. So, please Apple, change something and allow the industry to move forward and give consumers something better than a device that’s five years old.