Marguerite Reardon
Apple said on Monday it has sold its 100 millionth iPod, marking a major milestone in the product's history.
Since introducing the iPod in November 2001, the company has unveiled more than 10 new iPod models. The music player has also sparked an ecosystem of more than 4,000 accessories, ranging from fashionable cases to speaker systems.
Apple's iTunes Store has seen comparable success in selling items from its catalogue of more than 5 million songs, 350 television shows and 400 movies. The company says it has sold more than 2.5 billion songs, 50 million TV shows and 1.3 million movies, making it the world's most popular online store of digital media.
Apple's success with the iPod continues despite a plethora of music-player competition from other companies, including Microsoft. The software giant in November introduced its Zune music player, whose sales thus far haven't come close to challenging Apple's dominance in the portable-music market.
iPod fans are now awaiting Apple's iPhone, which combines the functionality and design of the iPod with that of a mobile phone. The iPhone is set to launch for $500 or $600 (depending on capacity) in the US in June, with a global rollout later in the year.
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