Ben David Trigg

There’s been some iHype in cyberspace again recently. Roughly around this time each year (or a bit earlier actually, I’m late to the party), there are a string of new Apple announcements, and this year is no exception. Fans like myself will be aware that Apple recently released a new line in their iPod range, bringing the touchscreen to the new nano, and updating the touchscreen of the iPod Touch with the high definition that has recently been beautifully bestowed upon the iPhone 4. The shuffle too has reincarnated, to make up the complete re-vamped line. (Another humorous way of looking at the revamp of the nano and shuffle can be found here.)

Excepted from the list of updated models is, of course the iPod Classic. There is nothing wrong with this in principle, the old adage “if it ain’t broke…” begins to ring. Apple have happily kept it, unchanged, as part of this new range. But it has led some bloggers and commentators to question the general direction of Apple’s development, and whether the Classic has much place in the future of the line, or whether it will gradually get filtered out as things get more touchable, more compact, and larger in capacity – indeed the Touch can already hold a maximum of 64GB, which for many peoples’ music collections would be more than ample, with a good collection of apps on top.

And so some bloggers like this one are musing that the Classic’s days may be numbered. Which, perhaps as a nostalgic, old-man-ish kinda way, I personally feel would be a shame.

Personally, I’ve thought recently about selling off my iPod again (having only got it after Christmas this year) and just sticking with whatever the 16GB on my iPhone can offer me (which is limited, given that my music collection amounts to just over that, and even with conversion to smaller file sizes, it would be a squeeze with apps and so on as well). But I knew it would have been a shame to shed the huge amount of space offered by the Classic, plus it was partly a gift anyway so I couldn’t REALLY get rid of it! But I think it was settled when another friend who loved his Classic and had had it break on him, advised me that losing it would be like ‘losing my right arm’. Right. Sounds serious.

So, the big music collection, plus videos and everything available to have on my iPod too. Smashing. But it’s not just that. Like I say it might be nostalgia, but the Classic is now the only iPod now which bears greatest resemblance to that original design (the last nano did but that too has gone). And let us remember it was those original iPods that revolutionised the mobile music market. And quite frankly probably did wonders for Apple’s reputation and market visibility.

I guess Apple can do what they like, but I hope the Classic stays there for folk like me who anticipate our music collection growing fairly continuously and love just playing and listening to music, for what it is. Nostalgic  reverie over.