A stereophile review of the third generation iPod (current) has an interesting tidbit: the embedded OS that runs the iPod is not Apple’s design.
One item that’s invisible but indispensable is the iPod’s operating system, which, I’ve been informed, is not of Apple design. PortalPlayer, a company that specializes in developing OSes for cellular phones, PDAs, and other streaming and wireless applications, designed the iPod’s human interface. The iPod is so easy to use that it’s obvious Apple chose the right company for the job.
Parts choices are said to have been made with an emphasis on sound quality, availability, and “time to market” considerations. Parts vetted include PortalPlayer’s own MP3 decoder and controller chip, a Wolfson Microelectronics D/A converter, a Sharp flash-memory chip, Texas Instruments’ IEEE1394a interface controller, and a Linear Technologies power-management and battery-charging system. The essential innard is the hard disk drive (HDD), which is amazingly tiny-a 1.8″ Toshiba design built to fit Toshiba’s PCMCIA cards.
