The iMac may have signaled a new, design driven direction for Apple on Steve Jobs’ return to the company, but it’s the iPod that set the company on a path to market dominance. It led to the iPhone (arguably, the device that made smartphones cool for the masses) which led to the iPad, which is (at least for the moment) the only tablet device that’s managed to gain significant traction with consumers.

Innovation is often credited to the first version of something new, but design is the unspoken element that makes the difference between the product that’s first and the product people care about. For more than a century, there hasn’t been a better example of design driving innovation than the devices that brought music to the masses.

From Edison’s phonograph to Jobs’ iPod, here’s a look at the devices that have driven innovation through the art of design.

Thomas Edison’s Phonograph

Thomas Edison’s phonograph wasn’t the first device to record sound , but it was the first that could play them back. The one working invention prior to the phonograph – the phonautograph, only created visual representations of sound. You can thank Edison for the fact that you’re able to listen to music, rather than watch it on a fancy transcription machine.

Alexander Graham Bell and Emile Berliner’s Wax

Originally recorded on tin-foil horizontal cylinders (imagine an imprinted Coke can), engineers at Alexander Graham Bell’s Volta Laboratory improved upon the sound quality of Edison’s phonograph by replacing the tin cylinders with ones coated in wax. A year after Bell was granted the patent for recording in wax, and named the invention the graphophone. It was a German inventor named Emile Berliner, however, who created the modern record disc as part of his gramophone system, seen as a key development in the modern music industry. Bell’s design improvement made recordings better to listen to, Berliner’s made them accessible.

The Victrola

The design of the records themselves were an improvement, but the phonographs used to play them largely stayed the same until the Victrola. For purely aesthetic reasons, the Victrola was the first record player to conceal the horn in an effort to make the players blend in, as opposed to standing out. Cabinets with gold trim and expensive wood made them best selling luxury items of the early 1900s.

We would suggest a moment of silence if we werenâ€t too busy wondering if we were the only ones who had assumed the Walkman was already out of production. Apparently Sony has still been making Walkmans, though they have become mostly obsolete with the advent of Mp3 players – namely, the Apple iPod, which was introduced around this time of year in 2001.

Dying, but not dead yet

Sony will continue producing Walkman devices in China and distributing them in the United States, Europe and some Asian countries, and the more updated (but still relatively old news) Discman is still made by Sony. Digital Walkmans that display lyrics and have improved digital noise-canceling technology are also available, though we wonder why Sony doesn’t just pull the proverbial plug. The LA Times spoke to an unnamed source at Sony who claims that someone out there is providing a “consistent but small demand.”

The Walkman, which saw its first model launched 31 years ago in 1979 at a retail price of $200, is largely regarded as the first big step in portable music – the ground work on which the Discman and iPod were created and thus an incredibly important gadget in the music biz. About 220 million have been sold worldwide to date. {The Washington Post}

Though the Walkman will likely be remembered most for making music widely portable, the fact that the device marked the beginning of customized music lists is equally as important. The Washington Post calls the Walkman the “father of the mix tape.” In this case, the Walkmanâ€s reach has far exceeded the boundaries of music and entertainment, as these days you can customize nearly anything – including chocolate bars.

Now letâ€s take that moment of silence for the Walkman.

More recently, rumors are that there could be a new nano or shuffle with a small touchscreen.  The rumors stem from a photo showing what are supposed to be cases for the new iPod nano and iPod touch.  The cases show a back camera for the iPod touch similar to that of the iPhone, but with the same curved back of the current touches.  The “nano 6G” case, however, is completely different.  It’s a small square with a rectangle cut out of the back, and placements for a 30-pin dock connector, and volume control buttons.  If the case proves to be true, it could explain the 1.7-inch touchscreen that was supposedly heading for Apple a few months back {iLounge}.  It could possibly be a touchscreen that simply has access to music, as it wouldn’t make sense to further fragment iOS apps with a small screen.  Or, it could be completely bunk.  We saw cases for iPod touches last year that featured a camera that was obviously not included in the final product.  Apple is so fiercely protective of pre-launch products that they didn’t release the design of the iPhone 4 to case makers before  launch, and it could be doing the same now, with makers just going based on rumors.

Another, seemingly more safe rumor is that Apple will be making iTunes more social in the Wednesday announcement.  While previous rumors said Apple is working on an iTunes cloud solution, the new rumors say that the company could, instead, be working on making it easier to recommend media to friends {The Unofficial Apple Weblog}.  The idea is likely that people are often influenced by their friends when it comes to any sort of media, and iTunes would be able to show you what your friends are listening to, playing, using and watching without having to go to another social network or (gasp!) asking them in person.  Seems like a logical step, even if iTunes cloud-streaming would be a nicer feature to have.

It is a truth universally acknowledged: no matter how much you love the songs in your iTunes library, the minute you hit shuffle, you’ll end up skipping pretty much all of them. Usually only at the moment you’ve stuffed your iPod deep into the recesses of your bag (how does it get so lost in a purse so small?).

And in winter it’s even worse. If you’re like us and can’t stand to have your precious winter bundling disturbed by your fickle musical moods (as we well know, gloves + iPod touch = endless frustration), then we’ve found a jacket just for you.

From The North Face, a company known for its insulating outerware, comes the Femphonic Audio Jacket (yeah, we wouldn’t have gone with “Femphonic” either, but just roll with it).

With a joy stick on the cuff that lets you switch songs and adjust the volume, this jacket will keep your body warm and your brain happy – may we suggest some chirpy Christmas carols while you’re walking in a winter wonderland?

The only thing not happy, unfortunately, will be your pocket-book. The current price for the Femphonic Audio Jacket is $348.95.

Read the Full Story {CrunchGear}