iPod iPod Classic update?

[JimMcGuinn]

I think the demand for an iPod classic is severely diminshed.

The only way I could see anybody having one is if you don't have an unlimited data and are in the car all the time, or if you fly out of the country a lot.

iTunes Match, airplay, and home sharing have taken a big bite out of the iPod classic.

the iPod classic limits you to 160 gigs. My music collection is like 300 gigs. I can access all 300 gigs using the "remote" app and stream it to either my Bose Sounddock 10 in my bedroom or my AppleTV in the living room using either my phone or my 8 gig iPod touch.

I have iTunes Match which gives me 25,000 songs, which is probably enough to fill a 160 gig iPod classic and it costs $25 a year.

If I were in the car all the time and didn't have unlimited data than I guess I would have use for an iPod classic, or if I was frequently flying out of the country and didn't want to pay for the airplanes wifi but for most uses I think home sharing, iTunes Match, and airplay have eliminated the need for the iPod classic which is why you don't even really see them on display at Apple stores anymore.

God you are SO wrong, as is everyone else on this thread, as far as I'm concerned.

The IPOD classic is simply not big enough. It doesn't need any fancy crap and should definitely not have to rely upon fast internet connection. It could be the ultimate walkman if it was just made bigger! 500+ gig would be a good start. I estimate my music, audiobooks, podcasts, and lectures at a total of roughly 650 gig, and this does not take into consideration that every week I am discovering new albums I like and lectures I want to listen to. Just today I had to delete two lectures and some podcasts (short stories by Chekhov, and some updates from Mumia) to make room for 5 albums I wanted. And just yesterday I wanted to listen to an album that was on the ipod other than the one I had with me. I am so sick of having to think about and manage two ipod classics and having to delete things every time I want to add something new. Ridiculous. I do not want to have to have strong internet connection just to listen to music, and I certainly am not thinking about apps while listening either. There is a big lack in this area and Apple needs to address it. I am not the only one I know in need of a much bigger ipod classic.

Ipads, Iphones, and Macbooks can be used for playing around with apps and everything else. Keep the Ipod classic for MUSIC and its lovers. It is the ultimate walkman, provided you upgrade it with some decent headphones (though the standard ones are good for audiobooks in silent environments, but nothing else). I don't want spotify or any other streaming; it simply doesn't have the range, and I don't want to have to rely upon internet connections to listen to music!! It is and should be a separate thing!! Just like I don't want the internet to read books, so I don't want the fricken internet just to listen to an album. I couldn't live without the internet and it helps me daily in discovering new bands, but listening to music should not have to rely upon it. I just want to have my record and cd collection on a brilliant, mobile device, and while the Ipod classic is the VERY best thing on the market for this, it is just too small and needs to be updated so I can enjoy all my music on the go, and not have to delete albums each time I want to add a new one.

 

[decafjava]

*Applause for Jim*

Very well said, and I don't even have a classic.

 

[yly3]

I agree and would like to add to that.
But I'd like to put my music gagdets background first. I have used :

1 year = iPod Nano 3rd gen (the fatty)
2 years = iPod Nano 4th gen
6 months = iPhone 4
2 months = 30GB 5G iPod
1 year = iPhone 4S (had the 64gb version so I had like 30gb of music on it)
8 months = iPod Nano 6th gen (the watch touchscreen)

and now (and I'm 100% certain I will remain here) 5 months & counting = 5.5G 80gb iPod.

** I also have a Soundcloud account and using it similar to a "notes" app. Basically, when I find about a tune I like, I just "like" it on soundcloud and when I get back home I check what new stuff I have liked so that I can sync them later with my iPod.

I recently had quite a few debates on this subject with some friends. Due to the times and trends, people seem to think that everything needs to be online.
Firstly, I do not understand this principle. From data caps and signal strength to paranoia a la hackers.

I understand that you can have "unlimited music" on the go with cloud/streaming music. But what you REALLY have is an (how I like to call it) "unlimited instant search catalog" on the go.
Like somebody already said, internet is not "mainstream" enough to have it literally anywhere, whatever you say it is a battery drainer compared to listening on local storage and you have the already mentioned data cap.

If you have like a 2-3GBs music collection then by all means, just use your soundcloud/spotify/heckevenyoutube or phone.


click-wheel is a huge advantage, trust me, if you have a decent music collection, touch scrooling gets tiresome, while for some reason the circle scrooling is much more comfortable on the thinger.. at least in my case.
And when you get the hang of it, you can scrool very fast and accurate. Mind you, I have shy of 7000 songs on this thing and I'm searching for the 240gb upgrade as we speak.

With the Classic, I do not have to worry about anything, except the battery status of course.
It is clutter free, I see no ads, no apps, no nothing. Just me and my music. Clean and simple. Much more immersive.
There is a reason why the iPod ressurected Apple. It was a great device for music from an experience point of view.
Battery life is good even on my 6 year old one (20h playback at least in my case). If you buy those extended chinese ones from ebay you can even almost double the battery life.

The sound quality, nuff said.

I will add more later on but I am in a hurry right now

 

[Sophia.]

I love my Classic but I highly doubt it will ever be updated.

 

[ianwuk]

God you are SO wrong, as is everyone else on this thread, as far as I'm concerned.

The IPOD classic is simply not big enough. It doesn't need any fancy crap and should definitely not have to rely upon fast internet connection. It could be the ultimate walkman if it was just made bigger! 500+ gig would be a good start. I estimate my music, audiobooks, podcasts, and lectures at a total of roughly 650 gig, and this does not take into consideration that every week I am discovering new albums I like and lectures I want to listen to. Just today I had to delete two lectures and some podcasts (short stories by Chekhov, and some updates from Mumia) to make room for 5 albums I wanted. And just yesterday I wanted to listen to an album that was on the ipod other than the one I had with me. I am so sick of having to think about and manage two ipod classics and having to delete things every time I want to add something new. Ridiculous. I do not want to have to have strong internet connection just to listen to music, and I certainly am not thinking about apps while listening either. There is a big lack in this area and Apple needs to address it. I am not the only one I know in need of a much bigger ipod classic.

Ipads, Iphones, and Macbooks can be used for playing around with apps and everything else. Keep the Ipod classic for MUSIC and its lovers. It is the ultimate walkman, provided you upgrade it with some decent headphones (though the standard ones are good for audiobooks in silent environments, but nothing else). I don't want spotify or any other streaming; it simply doesn't have the range, and I don't want to have to rely upon internet connections to listen to music!! It is and should be a separate thing!! Just like I don't want the internet to read books, so I don't want the fricken internet just to listen to an album. I couldn't live without the internet and it helps me daily in discovering new bands, but listening to music should not have to rely upon it. I just want to have my record and cd collection on a brilliant, mobile device, and while the Ipod classic is the VERY best thing on the market for this, it is just too small and needs to be updated so I can enjoy all my music on the go, and not have to delete albums each time I want to add a new one.

I completely agree with this. I have the 160GB Classic (love it) but everyone looks at me weird and asks why I need so much space? I like listening to music, I always discover new bands so it is nice to be able to have my entire collection with me at any time. A 500GB version would be great!

Ian

 

[srshaw]

Keep it as it is. I just use mine in my car, and its the only device that keeps all my music on it. I don't even look at it since it sits in the glovebox and is controlled by the head unit.

My experience though with hard disk iPods is that they have a finite lifespan, and I would like to be able to be able to replace it.

Ssds would be a nice addition for reliability though.

 

[WilliamDu]

Possible Classic Update Data Point

iPod Classic Silver is out of stock at MacMall.
When I called my contact with whom I have done a lot of business, she stated that the EARLIEST they might have availability on the Classic Silver was 18th April. Unlike MacMall being OOS for something like this that long.
Checking with two other on-line dealers, also Classic Silver OOS.
One can only hope it means a new one is expected.
On the other hand it could mean they aren't EVER getting any more
It would be nice to get some warning it they are being discontinued so one can quick try to find the current model somewhere.

 

[Arkious]

personally i don't like carrying round extra crap in my pocket and will therefor stick with music on my phone. Don't get me wrong though, i do love all the iPod range and always have done

Since i got my first iPhone, it made more sense to use that over carrying an iPod too. Now for people that have issues with battery life of using everything on one device... you must use it an insane amount!

I use my iPhone 5 32GB for music every day for at least 2 hours but on average 3 hours. This includes streaming an internet radio station for half an hour via bluetooth to my cars system.

Now i understand that this is only my needs and requirements but my other thought is why you would need to carry 500GB worth of music around with you xD i have 3.7 days of audio in my iTunes library at 9.37GB, most of which i never listen to any more.

on a side note, i would like to see an improved classic but not necessarily with a bigger hdd. other features would be nice as others have stated

 

[Jessica Lares]

Why am I going to pay $10 a month to listen to something I already bought? Just because you don't listen to yesterday's hits, doesn't mean we don't. I add over 3GB of NEW music every month to my iTunes to be honest and I listen to all of it. I used to have Spotify Premium, but the problem is that there is too much choice. You can't just click the shuffle button, you have to think of something you want to listen to first, and then think of the next, and so on.

And yeah, my iPhone battery drained pretty quickly too. If you're playing music AND using it at the same time, it's like doubling the battery usage.

 

[Rawkfist]

I couldn't agree more with Jessica. I dropped my MOG account for the same reasons. Song shuffle is my friend and having 160GB of music at my disposal is why I like the Classic so much. If I had only 32GB of room there is probably some music I wouldn't listen to in my collection. And 160 is WAY too small to hold all of my music. Cloud or streaming is out of the question in the Piney Woods of East Texas anyway. If, please Apple please, we do get some sort of update a better DAC would be a start. A storage increase would be nice too. Just don't drop it without a warning.

 

[MacGekko]

iPod Classic Silver is out of stock at MacMall.
When I called my contact with whom I have done a lot of business, she stated that the EARLIEST they might have availability on the Classic Silver was 18th April. Unlike MacMall being OOS for something like this that long.
Checking with two other on-line dealers, also Classic Silver OOS.
One can only hope it means a new one is expected.
On the other hand it could mean they aren't EVER getting any more
It would be nice to get some warning it they are being discontinued so one can quick try to find the current model somewhere.

The Ipod Classic Silver was $239 at Amazon while the black Classic was $229, I see that they are both back to the $229 level. In fact most of the major retailers are selling it at $229, Best Buy has it at $234 and they will price match Amazon.

I'm wondering if the veterans here have seen similar price drops before a product is about to be updated?

I don't think I'm going to wait any longer, I need a new Classic but I would not be surprised if there is an update in the summer or fall.

 

[mayuka]

I'm wondering if the veterans here have seen similar price drops before a product is about to be updated?

There were similar conditions about 2 years ago in June, if I remember that correctly. I just had bought the iPod touch 2nd gen 1 year ago and became quite frustrated with it. As the stock was low everyone suspected that the iPod classic would became a refresh. The situation only resolved after Apple had their usual september announcements and the iPod classic was still listed in the store. The rest is history.

A touch interface is great for myriad of reasons. If you cycle a lot or during sports you do not have the opportunity to look at a fancy screen. The click-wheel however you can operate blindly.

Oh btw: The most likely failure in iPod classics (all generations) is the battery and the hard drive. A replacement battery costs about 5$ and comes with tools. There is an adaptor to use Compact Flash cards for most of the models. It sells for a few bucks. So you can repair it very cheap.

 

[AJAAY]

I ABSOLUTELY love the form factor of the classic. It's nice to have a device to just play music and thats it. I'm tired of every device coming out needing to have apps, internet and games added to it. This is also a reason why I opted for a regular ol' black and white screen kindle. I just want to read! It's that simple.

Anyway, the only downside to the classic (at least for me) is the hard drive. I bought one last year and ended up not really using it because I wanted it for the gym. Bouncing up and down is not really good for the hard drive. So it became drawer candy until I ended up selling it.

Now I'm getting that itch again. If they do discontinue it, I will definitely buy another one and will have to deal. But I'm so hoping for some flash storage.

 

[LJSurfa]

Found a classic in HMV brand new for £80 but all sold out! Is this a sign of 2 things A) Selling off old stock for a new model or B) Selling off old stock because it is gone. I am hoping for a new model personally. I don't want an iPod touch that sings and dances, I have an iPhone for that. I want a simple dedicated music player- the classic. It does show one thing though- being out of stock means there must still be demand for them!

 

[mayuka]

Anyway, the only downside to the classic (at least for me) is the hard drive. I bought one last year and ended up not really using it because I wanted it for the gym. Bouncing up and down is not really good for the hard drive. So it became drawer candy until I ended up selling it.

You should have swabbed the hard drive with a compact flash card. It's simple and cheap.

 

[MacGekko]

There were similar conditions about 2 years ago in June, if I remember that correctly. I just had bought the iPod touch 2nd gen 1 year ago and became quite frustrated with it. As the stock was low everyone suspected that the iPod classic would became a refresh. The situation only resolved after Apple had their usual september announcements and the iPod classic was still listed in the store. The rest is history.

A touch interface is great for myriad of reasons. If you cycle a lot or during sports you do not have the opportunity to look at a fancy screen. The click-wheel however you can operate blindly.

Oh btw: The most likely failure in iPod classics (all generations) is the battery and the hard drive. A replacement battery costs about 5$ and comes with tools. There is an adaptor to use Compact Flash cards for most of the models. It sells for a few bucks. So you can repair it very cheap.

Thanks, I will buy the new Ipod Classic but I would like to keep my Ipod Classic 4th generation 20gb as well, I was about to buy a 30gb hard drive from Rapid Repair but what are my options as far as compact flash cards go? Does the 4th generation have the ability for compact flash cards, if so what kind of adaptor do I need, what is the best place to buy them and how much space can you add in gb's to that particular model? Thanks again.

 

[curmudgeon32]

To me, it's all about the touchwheel. It's one of the best interface ideas Apple has ever had. It's intuitive and MUCH less fiddly than the iOS interface for basic menu navigation, volume, etc.

And people going on about cloud music are missing the point: there are times when you want to just have your music and media on hand and not be worried about bandwidth or connectivity.

My wish list for the classic would be:

- same basic form factor (touchwheel, moderate screen)
- 256GB of flash storage
- shave the thickness down dramatically
- best DAC possible
- a nice big battery (think DAYS of use between charges)
- 1080p ouput (with Airplay) for playing movies on a TV or projector

 

[mayuka]

I would like to keep my Ipod Classic 4th generation 20gb as well, I was about to buy a 30gb hard drive from Rapid Repair but what are my options as far as compact flash cards go? Does the 4th generation have the ability for compact flash cards, if so what kind of adaptor do I need, what is the best place to buy them and how much space can you add in gb's to that particular model?

On the photo you can see the inside of an iPod Photo. It is the "4.5th" generation iPod. It will work with the 4th gen iPod with monochrome display too. I only have tried a Transcend 32 GB and a Sandisk Ultra 4 GB card so far. They both work well. Only those Microdrives won't work for some reason. I've seen a picture of somebody having 128 GB inside his iPod mini. I don't think there's a particular reason why the iPod line does have a lower limitation.

Adaptors are very cheap on ebay, for example: this one

Models higher than the 5th gen need a so called ZIF adaptor.