Happy Birthday iPod

Apple's portable music player_the iPod_ celebrates its 5th birthday today. With the various functions and capabilities that it feeds to users, the iPod has "revolutionized the way people buy and listen to music." The benefits of the iPod are evident in the rise of Apple's stocks over the past five years. "Apple dominates retail sales of digital music players with more than 70 percent of the market," and iPod sales have increased the sales of Mac computers. The iPod has also been an enemy for other companies such as record stores and other music vendors. However, Apple still faces competition. Microsoft's Zune is expected to make its debut next month, and Sandisk has already featured products to battle the Nano iPod.