The greatest innovation of the iPod was the bold move to make the earbuds white. This made the music player - usually tucked away in the pocket - a visible symb

The greatest innovation of the iPod was the bold move to make the earbuds white. This made the music player - usually tucked away in the pocket - a visible symbol of status and coolness. Together with a brilliant marketing campaign which made it into a must-have fashion item, and special content contracts, it made the iPod a huge success. Technical aspects really aren't what made the iPod successful. Sure, the clickwheel was a really great idea, and it was an overall well-polished product. But other players were good too. Without the marketing, and without the breakthrough pricing of music on the iTunes Music Store (complete with iPod-ecosystem lockin via DRM), it would have gone nowhere. In some ways the iPhone is a similar story IMO, but I guess that's even more controversial...