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Smeaton1724

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Sep 14, 2011
836
806
Leeds, UK
I had classics from generation 2, through to 7. I've had nanos but never got on with those due to small storage. Haven't had a 7 for around 2 years but now they're discontinued I feel the urge to get one! Anyone in the same boat, had classics, then sold them, used iPhones for music but now wants one back after the announcement!?

Been looking at stock over the last 2 days in the UK, it's rather tight at 3rd party retailers and my 2 local Apple Shop don't have stock :(
:apple:
 

touchmonkey

macrumors 6502
Oct 14, 2008
363
0
Tried Walmart. None.
I'm pissed at Apple and I hope there's backlash.
They need to at least replace it with a large capacity flash player.
Did I say I'm pissed?
 

repentix

macrumors regular
May 26, 2013
205
2
I bought my black 2.0.5 classic a day after it was discontinued, it was the last one in stock.
 

Buddygor

macrumors regular
May 22, 2012
168
5
Tried Walmart. None.
I'm pissed at Apple and I hope there's backlash.
They need to at least replace it with a large capacity flash player.
Did I say I'm pissed?

With a 128GB iPhone, and (presumably) a similar-capacity iPod touch 6 coming later this year, you get so much more for your money as opposed to a low-resolution display, mechanical hard drive, and unique but admittedly dated Click Wheel interface.
 

sracer

macrumors G4
Apr 9, 2010
10,271
12,994
where hip is spoken
With a 128GB iPhone, and (presumably) a similar-capacity iPod touch 6 coming later this year, you get so much more for your money as opposed to a low-resolution display, mechanical hard drive, and unique but admittedly dated Click Wheel interface.
I don't think that you appreciate the value of the unique qualities of the iPod Classic:
  • 128GB < 160GB by a significant amount.
  • Display resolution on the Classic is fine for what it is. Navigating through music, video, or podcast library.
  • Physical interface. The clickwheel is as "dated" as a computer keyboard with physical keys. It is not possible to navigate a touch device solely by touch... one must be looking at the screen to see what is being displayed. With the click wheel, some operations like pause, next/prev track, etc. can be done solely by touch.

While I can understand why an iPod Touch would be better for you personally, it is just that... a personal preference.

For the rest of us, with the discontinuing of the iPod Classic, there is no alternative.
 

rick3000

macrumors 6502a
May 6, 2008
645
266
West Coast
If I could find one easily I would buy a spare iPod Classic, but I'm not going to go hunting for one. There are 13 years of used iPods to choose from on eBay, and they are easy enough to repair/fix.

I agree with the above comment about navigating without looking. My current iPod Classic, and my iPod 3G before it, have lived almost exclusively in my car because I can play/pause, forward/back, without looking at the screen. It is sad the iPod is no longer going to be produced, but I do think that they will be available used for a very long time. They last forever, especially if they are just hanging out in your car.

If/when my iPod breaks I will just repair it, or maybe I will finally try and buy a Hogwarts edition, or U2 edition.
 

Charingx

macrumors newbie
Apr 26, 2010
9
0
I am not a big fan of Best Buy, but I would recommend that you look in their open box section. I imagine other Apple resellers have open box item you can check as well. I just picked up a new Classic for $215, with is a lot better than the price elsewhere.
 

tbobmccoy

macrumors 6502a
Jul 24, 2007
967
216
Austin, TX
Whoa, they pulled them all off the refurb stores, too. :( I'm very sad about that. No fanfare, nothing for the product that saved Apple's skin.
 

Buddygor

macrumors regular
May 22, 2012
168
5
I don't think that you appreciate the value of the unique qualities of the iPod Classic:
  • 128GB < 160GB by a significant amount.
  • Display resolution on the Classic is fine for what it is. Navigating through music, video, or podcast library.
  • Physical interface. The clickwheel is as "dated" as a computer keyboard with physical keys. It is not possible to navigate a touch device solely by touch... one must be looking at the screen to see what is being displayed. With the click wheel, some operations like pause, next/prev track, etc. can be done solely by touch.

While I can understand why an iPod Touch would be better for you personally, it is just that... a personal preference.

For the rest of us, with the discontinuing of the iPod Classic, there is no alternative.

Well first off, I still have a slightly older 80GB classic that I use daily. I do like it, but I can see how Apple is trying to slim down the product lines, and get everything on either iOS or OS X. The Classic just doesn't work with this trend- maybe they'll change the Nano or Shuffle to be more Classic-like, but for most people, it wasn't even on their radar.
 

CEmajr

macrumors 601
Dec 18, 2012
4,448
1,228
Charlotte, NC
whats the point of having lots of GB's when you can just subscribe to iTunes match?

I agree. I signed up for iTunes Match last year and now I don't even need a larger capacity iPhone.

As far as the Classic goes it's like it has been totally wiped from existence. I took a look at Amazon and they're totally out of stock and all that remains is from overpriced resellers.
 

radiohed

macrumors regular
Oct 17, 2007
210
10
Portland, ME
I personally don't like a touch screen interface for listening to music. I only want my iPod for playing music and the click wheel was perfect for that. I probably won't buy another iPod, except for maybe a nano refurb. I guess my technology "sweet spot" peaked about two years ago, and what are considered "advancements" since then, are just :p meh to me. It is clear that Apple focuses on the products that make the most money for them, and they are not a computer company, but a mobile device company that also makes some very good computers.
 

Scepticalscribe

macrumors Ivy Bridge
Jul 29, 2008
63,834
46,281
In a coffee shop.
I don't think that you appreciate the value of the unique qualities of the iPod Classic:
  • 128GB < 160GB by a significant amount.
  • Display resolution on the Classic is fine for what it is. Navigating through music, video, or podcast library.
  • Physical interface. The clickwheel is as "dated" as a computer keyboard with physical keys. It is not possible to navigate a touch device solely by touch... one must be looking at the screen to see what is being displayed. With the click wheel, some operations like pause, next/prev track, etc. can be done solely by touch.

While I can understand why an iPod Touch would be better for you personally, it is just that... a personal preference.

For the rest of us, with the discontinuing of the iPod Classic, there is no alternative.

I agree - excellent post which sums up my thoughts on the matter, too.

whats the point of having lots of GB's when you can just subscribe to iTunes match?

Because some of us wish to be able to carry our entire music library around in one (nicely portable) device.

----------

I personally don't like a touch screen interface for listening to music. I only want my iPod for playing music and the click wheel was perfect for that. I probably won't buy another iPod, except for maybe a nano refurb. I guess my technology "sweet spot" peaked about two years ago, and what are considered "advancements" since then, are just :p meh to me. It is clear that Apple focuses on the products that make the most money for them, and they are not a computer company, but a mobile device company that also makes some very good computers.

I'm pretty much in agreement with you on this.

Actually, in addition to a classic, I have a 64GB iTouch, which I bought over four years ago as no classic was available, and I was only home for a brief period of time.

While a beautiful device, I have to admit I am not a huge fan of the touchscreen, especially for music (which is about all that I use the Touch for); moreover, 64GB is not sufficient memory in which to store all of my music.
 

NewbieCanada

macrumors 68030
Oct 9, 2007
2,574
37
For some people 160 GB isn't enough. For others, the original 5 GB was too much. It's not some magic number that made the Classic inherently superior.

The reality is the drive used in the iPod classic was discontinued quite some time ago and Apple was using up their inventory.

Sales volumes for the iPod Classic were nowhere near the level to justify Apple having the drive manufactured just for them. And the research and manufacturing costs of a flash-based version would be absurd and pointless.

It's gone. There was absolutely no way for Apple to continue manufacturing it, except perhaps with a much smaller flash drive.

The market for it is not there, and no amount of posts pretending otherwise will change that.
 

puma1552

Suspended
Nov 20, 2008
5,559
1,947
I'm pretty sure you aren't going to find one in a brick and mortar store of any kind at this point.
 

MacInTO

macrumors 65816
Apr 25, 2005
1,195
216
Canada, eh!
This was indeed a classic device!

I've only ever owned one iPod and it was the classic; the latest generation (160GB) that I got in 2008. It was used to house my fairly large music collection (1000+ CDs) at the time. I paired it with a dock and remote. I was able to change songs, etc.

I sold it a few years ago and put all of my music on an old donated white Core 2 Duo Macbook with a 256GB SSD (my addition). This is paired with a tablet; I can select the music, playlists, etc. This is about the right setup size for me at the moment. I'm sure there are better ways to control my music, but this way was the cheapest and works for my setup.

Before that, my music was on two Sony 300 CD changers and then a 12" MacBook Pro - another classic!

:apple:
 

jchfriis

macrumors newbie
Dec 1, 2012
8
0
Have a 10 year old IPod 60 GB which I love. Changed the battery once and it's still great. Tried the Touch but it doesn't agree with me, so I ran out yesterday and bought a new Classic for backup. It's safely tucked away in the safe until the day the old one dies.
 

puma1552

Suspended
Nov 20, 2008
5,559
1,947
Have a 10 year old IPod 60 GB which I love. Changed the battery once and it's still great. Tried the Touch but it doesn't agree with me, so I ran out yesterday and bought a new Classic for backup. It's safely tucked away in the safe until the day the old one dies.

Where did you find a new one?
 

Scepticalscribe

macrumors Ivy Bridge
Jul 29, 2008
63,834
46,281
In a coffee shop.
For some people 160 GB isn't enough. For others, the original 5 GB was too much. It's not some magic number that made the Classic inherently superior.

The reality is the drive used in the iPod classic was discontinued quite some time ago and Apple was using up their inventory.

Sales volumes for the iPod Classic were nowhere near the level to justify Apple having the drive manufactured just for them. And the research and manufacturing costs of a flash-based version would be absurd and pointless.

It's gone. There was absolutely no way for Apple to continue manufacturing it, except perhaps with a much smaller flash drive.

The market for it is not there, and no amount of posts pretending otherwise will change that.

Actually, re the market (non-existent or otherwise) for iPod classics, I don't think that it is simply a matter 'of posts pretending otherwise', rather, it is more a case of those whose needs are (were) met by this device stating clearly how this device met those musical needs, and how they regret its passing.

Some of us wanted a device that could carry our entire music libraries and allow us to also to access this music and listen to it, and that is all we ever wanted from the device.

These days, while that is a small enough demographic, it is - nevertheless - a demographic that still exists, and fairly vocally, too. Of course, the old HDD was imperfect (a surprising number of them died, even on classics owned by classic lovers, such as myself), and that as a form of technology it had become fairly redundant some time ago.

SSD drives are a lot faster, and a lot more stable, and the pity of it is that they have not been used in iPods, as memory capacity has increased and costs have come down.

Now, I do accept (with regret) that the numbers that bought it no longer do, as their needs are met elsewhere, and I also see that Apple used the technology developed in the classic as a sort of wedge, which, in turn, enabled the development of the iPhone and transformed the market and manner of telephone communication, as the iPod had earlier transformed how music was marketed and consumed.
 

LucasLand

macrumors 6502a
Mar 6, 2002
756
92
New England
iCloud & iTunes match

Why would apple want to keep on coming out with large capacity devices when they are spending tons of money developing and marketing iCloud and iTunes Match? They are trying to get people to understand they no longer need to store all their music and files on their device, since it can be stored in the cloud.

they just updated their storage options. you can get 20gb for .99 per month. you can get 200gb for just $3.99 per month.

so why not just buy a 16gb device and store everything in the cloud?
 
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