The iPod's importance to Apple, which has in the past been overshadowed by the likes of Microsoft and Dell in the desktop stakes, cannot be underestimated.

The iPod is marketed as portable music player, but many users also take advantage of its storage capabilities as a removable hard drive.

And seeing rivals fall over themselves to introduce iPod equivalents with added multimedia features, such as screens that allow you to watch movies, demonstrates how commonplace this type of portable device has become.

Apple was able to tap into a market that had hitherto been dominated by Zip and Flash key drives, and this has simply made its detractors jealous: 58 per cent share of a still burgeoning market is nothing to be sniffed at.

By making so much storage so easily portable, the iPod has redefined consumer expectations. It certainly did for me when I got one a few weeks ago. I only use it for music, but that's because I have a laptop for work and a home PC.

If I had to transfer large files between them I'd go for my iPod as opposed to reaching for any other type of removable device.

Film makers have been known to use iPods to transport precious digital images from their soon-to-be-released blockbusters. They do this because the 'pipes' between production sites just can't handle the sheer volume of data needed by high-definition digital film.

In this context, it seems only fitting that Apple is cashing in on the design of the iPod to win over more consumers with the launch of its next iMac "from the creators of the iPod". The design heritage is clear for everyone to see.

For too long, Apple has been the preserve of creative professionals. Now that the average home PC user has worked out how to combine their digital camera with their PC and with their email, Apple can target a whole new market.

On top of this, the Mac operating system tends to lead to less security frights than other operating systems, and I reckon Apple has come up with its strongest consumer-market contender yet in the iMac G5.

After all, Apple has always been miles ahead of any other computer vendor in usability and design. Why shouldn't it exploit the success of the iPod so that the average consumer feels less intimidated about the creative and professional heritage of its desktop products?

In fact, my mother-in-law, who won't mind me pointing out that she is in her seventies, is now about to replace her four year-old beige PC with her first iMac.

If that isn't proof that the marketing is working, I don't know what is.