Rob Walker examines the iPod two years after its launch, asking how Apple turned existing technologies into a distinctive and commercially successful product. Through visits to Apple and interviews with Steve Jobs, Jonathan Ive and others, he considers the device’s cultural appeal, industrial design and deliberately simple interface. Rather than presenting the iPod as the result of a single breakthrough, Walker describes innovation as a process of combining hardware, software, design and manufacturing expertise around the user experience.

The article also looks beneath the iPod’s exterior, tracing components supplied by companies including Toshiba and PortalPlayer and showing how Apple coordinated outside technologies into a coherent product. Walker then considers the wider system surrounding the device, particularly iTunes and Apple’s online music store, alongside competition from Dell and other technology companies. The feature ultimately presents the iPod as a case study in product development, integration, design and commercial strategy.