As Sunday marks the 10th anniversary of the iPod, this weekend's shopping list looks at the latest accessories for these now-ubiquitous little digital rectangles which in 2001 first offered us the mind blowing chance to carry "1,000 songs in your pocket."
Named after the EVA Pods of the Discovery One spaceship in 2001: A Space Odyssey, Apple Inc under the guidance of its visionary CEO, the legendary Steve Jobs who sadly passed away recently, developed the original iPod in under a year as a response to the "big and clunky or small and useless" digital devices around at the time.
L-R: House of Fraser Therapy faux leopard fur ear muff style headphones, £22; Nixon copper Apollo headphones, £80 available from Selfridges.
The iPod's sleek and clean look with minimal branding, designed by British born Jonathan Ive, was radical and quickly became a design classic setting a new bar not just for technology and functionality, but also for slick design.
L-R: Michael by Michael Kors Jet Set python iPod cover, £50; Maison Martin Margiela shearling lined leather case, £250; Vivienne Westwood crocodile finish leather iPod case, £110, all available from Selfridges. www.selfridges.com
Right down to the white in ear headphones, the iPod became instantly recognisable, making it a must have style statement as well as a far superior alternative to the incredibly inconvenient Discman, and earning it a place in the collections of prestigious museums including London's Design Museum and New York's Museum of Modern Art.
L-R: Urban Ears do these amazing Plattan noise reducing headphones in a range of great pop colours for a very reasonable £50; Wesc Ivy green headphones are online exclusives, £45, all available at Urban Outfitters. www.urbanoutfitters.co.uk
Over the years Apple has continued to develop its portable media player offering, with the current iPod product line ranging from the 2GB iPod Shuffle to the 160GB iPod Classic - enough to hold a whopping 40,000 songs. The iPod Touch which replicates the look and touchscreen technology of the American brand's other star seller, the iPhone, also features two cameras so that Touch and iPhone users can make video calls via FaceTime (like Skype) to each other from their handsets via a broadband connection.
American brand, iWatchz is one of the brands producing these clever little wrist straps to turn your iPod Nano into a watch. Check out their leather and rubber strap versions available to buy from the Apple Store or they ship internationally online - check out their Facebook page for more info: www.facebook.com/iWatchz
As demand for iPods grew, secondary accessory markets sprung up as Apple suddenly made technology cool. From small independents to the biggest fashion houses - Chanel's Karl Lagerfeld famously has a collection of iPods which he takes with him in their own flight case when he travels - everyone has hopped on the iPod bandwagon resulting in a vast choice in cases, covers, headphones and docks.
Mix up something old with something new to give your iPod a vintage twist - these quirky Marshall headphones, £100 from Urban Outfitters will add a rock touch, whilst these See by Chloé leather Linia iPhone/iPod cases from Net-A-Porter, £70, lend a relaxed glamour and 70s feel.
I hope you like my selection of some of the coolest options around - I'm particularly loving these super clever wrist straps to change your iPod Nano into a sweet looking watch, so handy for when you don't have pockets or anything to clip it to, and I'm a big fan of some fancy headphones.
Another brand making some really cool Nano wrist straps are Hex whose Icon Watch Bands are shown here ($39.95 each) - their metal version, the Vision Metal Watch Band ($69.95) are also brilliant and are available from the Apple store or from www.shopHEX.com
Happy Birthday iPod! Here's a look at some of your best bits... (with thanks to Apple for the images).