That would be sad. I still heavily rely on my 160GB Classic since it's the only device that can keep my entire music collection at a reasonable resolution.
The problem is that most people don't care enough about quality (and quantity) and that case so iPhones (et al) are replacing music players, cameras, video devices etc.
Another case where convenience will make quality disappear or at least very expensive. Just looked at the recent financial results posted by Canon. I think us users of professional camera gear need to brace for impact at some point.
In audio it's different. More and more really great digital and analog technology is becoming available for musicians and producers. Problem is it doesn't really trickle down to the consumer. All is lost once you only listen to music on an iPhone with those horrible white headphones.
You've summed up in words exactly what I've been trying to say but have never been able to.
People hate quality. They don't care. They'd rather use Instagram with its crap 600x600 half-megapixel pseudo-photography pukey filter ***** than learn to shoot with a decent full-frame (or if they're ambitious, medium-format) single-lens reflex.
It doesn't even have to be an SLR. Just getting a freaking interchangeable-lens camera like the Nikon One is five thousand times better, for god's sake. Filters look cheesy, tacky, and awful.
The same with audio. Why have Beats become so popular? Advertising.
Why have reputable audio brands like Sennheiser, Denon, AKG, Audio-Technica, Sony, Etymotic, Shure, and Klipsch gone away from the limelight? Because people don't care about quality, they care about looking cool and fitting in. Sigh... That's why CDs aren't produced in huge batches anymore; only people who want to play music in their car without having to futz around with their phone, and die-hard audiophiles buy CDs.
Shame that they'll be gone in a decade or so, considering that they're still the best quality audio source. Vinyl is nice to listen to but is too colored and hiss remains on most tracks. MP3s are crap. CDs are great, Audio DVDs were even better, but unfortunately got killed because of the same reason: convenience v. quality.
Why do people vote for the same crappy democratic or republican candidates every year instead of researching about third-parties for the future of our country? It's because staying within the party you were raised in is convenient, but who gives a crap about the future of our country! Hah!
Why do people buy the same crappy, repetitive, awful, ear-grinding horrible tacky, cheesy pop music instead of expanding their horizons and experimenting with different music genres like rock, blues, jazz, hell, even classical? Convenience v. quality. Pop is easy to listen to. Other genres are harder. Rock, blues, and jazz have a lot in common: they're spontaneous, improvisatory, and much of the music is based off of formal theory, not 3 chords played over and over with a continuous "thumpin'" bass track in the background (which isn't even a real bass; it's just sloppy synth boosted fake bass).
You know, if you are somebody who is rational, not swayed by emotion, and have the necessary educational credentials to prove that you know more than most others, sometimes you just have to stop, think, and realize just how stupid the masses are.
Too stupid.
/rant
