What does iPod stand for?

June 15, 6:34 PMIndianapolis Music ExaminerJohn Rapp

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Grab yourself a handfull of the new iPod touch

Apple ringleader Steve Jobs just may take this one with him to the grave.

Dear John,

I love reading your articles! You are leaps and bounds ahead of anything else I have read in a long time. So now I'll put you to the test and see if you can get to the bottom of this mystery. My friend says that iPod is an acronym for something. I say it's not, just like the iMac, iBook and iPhone aren't acronyms for anything. A Google search turned up only a few wishy-washy answers, with no real conclusions. So can you help us out and tell us once and for all, what does iPod stand for?

Greg G.

Thanks, Greg! You know the way to a writer's heart, indeed: flattery. I tell you what, I'll put in a call to Apple right now and get to the bottom of this mystery, as you put it.

Many hours later

Nope, that's not working at all. Looks like you and your buddy will just have to argue about it, screaming endlessly into the night, "What does iPod stand for?"

Enough with the funny business. It's time to get down to work. Here's the real deal, Greg G.

What does iPod stand for? One of two things.

iPod likely started as an acronym for "Portable Open Database," claims what-does-ipod-stand-for.com. (Seriously, why was this domain even registered?)

The story goes: as the developers were creating the iPod, the originally developed software to run the device was called “Portable Open Database”. Naturally adding an “i” to the beginning, they affectionately called the product “iPod.” By the time the marketing department was involved, the name was so widely used, it simply stuck.

Fascinating story, indeed, as well as a great candidate for World's Worst Bedtime Story. Here's another not-very-interesting bit of information obtained from your one-stop shop for answers to a single meaningless question, what-does-ipod-stand-for.com:

1999 iMac Update newsletter from Apple:
“When we first announced iMac, we explained that the ‘i’ in iMac stands for Internet. iMac, we said, is the first computer to bring the ease of use long associated with Macintosh computers to the often arcane world of the Internet.”

But that's all out the window now, and both the prefix and suffux on all the iMerchandise that Mac pumps out is pretty much meaningless.

What does iPod stand for? Not spit.

There comes a time in a man's life when he realizes that it's pretty likely the name iPod doesn't stand for jack. But that doesn't mean this man in question has to become one of the many jaded Machead burnouts like so many have before him.

Just because iPod doesn't necessarily stand for anything profound doesn't mean the iPod is anything less than a really killer portable music force. If you haven't gotten your hands on one of Apple's latest batches of second generation touch iPods, that is just obscene. Lucky for you Amazon.com has dropped their prices and will even ship your new Apple iPod touch for free. Order one today and see what you've been missing. You can play 3D video games on the newest iPod touch, for crying out loud. Now that's technology.