iPod classic stock dwindling at Apple, other retailers
updated 10:50 am EST, Tue February 8, 2011
Could signal update or death of core iPod design
Stock of the iPod classic is on the decline at several retailers, a report observes. At Apple's online store, for instance, the silver Classic is now shipping in one to three days, as compared to 24 hours last week. Best Buy's website notes that the same color has gone from one-day shipping last week to being backordered by one to to two weeks. At Target, shipping times are now listed as two to four weeks.
The black-tinted Classic appears to be unaffected by shortages. Apple allowing silver stock to fall low could nevertheless signal plans to kill off one or both models, or else finally release an update. The Classic has not been updated in any form for over a year; it still uses a 160GB hard drive, a clickwheel, and a version of the original iPod firmware.
Apple could potentially upgrade the Classic to use a recent 220GB Toshiba drive, sized at the 1.8 inches the player would need. The company has however thrown most of its efforts behind flash memory in recent years, as well as touchscreen interfaces, preferring to ditch the sort of buttons used by the Classic whenever possible. Apple might therefore prefer to provide high-capacity storage through a 128GB iPod touch, although unlike its predecessor, the Touch can't be used as a "dumb" storage device for backing up music and other files.
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Jan 2009
Say it isn't so!
I hope they don't do away with the click wheel completely. The touch-screen interface is horrible for a music player. I cringe at the thought of the day my 1st generation iPod Nano dies. Listening to music at the gym with become much more difficult. The click wheel is so much easier to use when working out or driving in the car. If I need to pause or change tracks all it takes it one touch with a gloved finger on the click wheel. If I am using my iPhone to listen to music I have to take off my gloves (if driving in the winter) touch the screen to wake it up, physically look at the screen to see where I am supposed to touch just to pause or jump to the next track. I don't even have room to type how difficult it is to flip through playlists or albums to find the track I want.
In my opinion a click wheel offers a much better music listening experience than a touch screen interface. Don't even get me started on the risks of a big glass screen when working out, running, etc.