I am distraught. Yesterday I heard rumors that Apple is going to put an end to production of the venerable iPod Classic. I don’t doubt that the rumors are true, of course, as the iPod Classic has not been selling as briskly these days as the iTouch and the iPad and the iPhone, which were supposed to replace it.
But the truth is, the iTouch, iPad, and iPhone do not replace what I like about the iPod Classic. Mine is six years old, will be seven next April. It is a 60 gb video version. It has 57 gb of music and podcasts on it. I don’t use it for anything but audio. I use it every day. Every single day. And have used it almost every single day since I got it. It talks or plays me through my commute with podcasts and music. On an airplane it helps me keep track of time since I can’t keep my cell phone on. When I can’t sleep at night, it’s what lulls me to slumber with sweet, ambient sounds without disturbing my hubby with light or sound. Its battery still lasts upwards of ten hours, even with its advanced age. Within a few weeks of acquiring it, I spent $90 on Sony Fontopia headphones that go in my ear canal and turn off the entire world for me. They lasted more than five years. I replaced them earlier this year with another pair.
I’ve looked at the iTouch. Cute, but I don’t like things with touch screens (they are always mucked up with fingerprints and this drives me crazy). I also don’t like things without the storage capacity of my Classic. The biggest iTouch is only 64 gb, and at least 10 of those gb’s are taken up with applications. I don’t want applications. I want music, and podcasts. Nothing else. Just music and podcasts.
My classic can be tucked in a pocket or into the little map holder thingie on the inside of my car door. It doesn’t mind if it gets dropped or tossed in my purse with pens, crochet hooks, change, and toy cars. It doesn’t like cold much, but what computer does? (I discovered this after leaving it in the car over a winter’s night and it wouldn’t wake up when I turned it on the next morning – once warmed up it was fine.) My classic is sturdy, dependable, holds what I need it to hold, and is there for me.
I know, I’m resistant to change, but I don’t want an iTouch. I can’t imagine dropping an iPad into the little map pocket thingie in the car, or tucking it into my pocket or tossing it into my purse. I can’t imagine trying to go to sleep with the iPhone under my pillow, where it would invariable create a ruckus when I got a text message or an email. I honestly can’t imagine what I would do without my Classic. If my house were to catch on fire, I’d probably grab the Classic before I left the house. Not really, but I’d sure think hard about it.
I suppose I should bite the bullet and buy myself a new classic to have on hand when this one finally dies. Every time I talk so glowingly about it, I worry that it will hear me and give up the ghost. Please, little iPod Classic, don’t die on me yet! What would I do without you?
I love my iPod Touch and it’s a great little computer/music player/video viewer and camera, among other things. And while this can do music, I prefer to use my older iPods that do mostly audio.
Like the iPod Classic I have an old iPod Photo, 40 GB model and that is filled with music. Battery still works but doesn’t hold a charge for as long as it used to. Perhaps I need to get the current iPod Classic before they totally disappear. I need something to put my entire 17,000 song music/audio library in.
Another thing to like about the iPods are the touch wheels. They are easy to manipulate when you can’t exactly look at the thing (while…er.. um driving)…. Can’t do that with the iPod Touch.
I use my old iPods in the car, connected to the home stereo system and elsewhere.
As I stated I like my iPod Touch but there still is room (to me) for an all audio iPod Classic.
I have a notepad and pen. I also have a camera. I never go anywhere without my camera. I also cannot type on a touch-pad anything, so having those features on a tiny device doesn’t help me. I don’t need the power of a laptop in my pocket, never have. That may change someday, but personally I don’t see myself moving that direction.
When I look at what I do with a computer, in iPhone is not going to take the place of that. It’s a fun toy, something cool to amuse myself with when I’m bored in a meeting or sitting at the doctor’s office waiting for an appointment, but in my line of work, and with what I do on a computer, it is useless as a business tool. Same goes for the iTouch.
Ack Come on, it’s really not that bad. The Classic was good at what it did but in reality, it’s probably time to move on.
You say you only want music and podcasts right? Dies that mean that you don’t have a notepad and pen in your bag?
If you upgraded to an itouch, you would have access to a fantastic notepad with the notes app. You would also have a sound recorder and a camera. Surely you have lots of moments when you think …Shoot , wish i had a camera”?
Or if you spent a little extra, you could go for the iPhone. You bemoan the use of apps, but you aren’t forced to download a single extra app than the ones Apple provide. The ones they do provide effectively take the functionality of your laptop and put it into your pocket. If you are writing articles about technology on a geeks site, I presume that technology is a passion of yours? So embrace it and move your laptop into your pocket and still be able to enjoy multiple albums and podcasts. You can always put the phone in silent mode.