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As many others have said on this forum, how about no?

I have owned two iPod Touches, the 2nd gen and now the 4th gen, and I wouldn't trade them for anything. I adore the iPod Touch line as many other people my age (high school/college age kids) do.

The iPod Touch gives me everything I need in a device without the expensive data plans and taking up extra room in my pocket. iPhones are excellent devices, but the iPod Touch provides me with everything I could want and need without having to pay for data. Plus, with the new retina display, cameras, speaker, microphone, and the abundance of wifi across America, the iPod Touch fits me perfectly. I never leave the house without and can't imagine Apple closing the line.
 
Well I know a lot of parents I know would be upset if they dumped it.

My circle of friends have bought or will be buying touches for the kids. The iPad is too big for their hands and too heavy. The touch iseems to be a good size and a decent price point.

I am hoping that the selfish opinion of the OP will fall upon deaf ears at apple.
 
Yeah brillant CNET, just brillant..

what about the people that don't want a phone?
what about the kids that don't want to pay monthly fees for an iOS device?
what about the people that don't want to spend $500+ on a iPad with 1/3rd the capacity at the same price?
what about all the people that buy Apps through the app store for use on the iPod Touch?

Articles don't usually bother me but that guy is definitely a beer short of a 6 pack.

Right now would be a HORRIBLE time for them to drop it for the simple fact Samsung (Galaxy Player 4.0/5.0) has made a rather worthy competitor to the iPod Touch and it is selling well enough to be a threat.
 
Just spewing hot air out here but if I were to guess today what the future holds it would be a new iPhone announced in June and then in September an iPod announcement where the classic is killed, and the touch becomes simply the iPod. simplify the iOS ecosystem to the iPhone, iPad, and iPod.

Also, this CNET guy is dead wrong. As an elementary school teacher I can say Apple has a genius strategy with the iPod touch. I know dozens of kids age 8+ who have their own personal iPod touch and they all buy apps which gives Apple more money. And when they get older many of them will most likely get an iPhone.
 
Give me a better camera, at least an A5 and 512mb of ram and I will be a very happy camper. I've been limping along on this 8gb 2nd gen for 3 years now. I'm ready to move on. I may even just pick up a refurbished 4th gen. Most things are simply just too slow for what I do with it. Music, Youtube and the occasional web search are fine. But using Facebook, gaming, and many other apps are simply just too slow. I also get a good amount of keyboard lag at times while texting. I remember back when I got it and thinking it's specs were great. But now, it's 533Mhz CPU and 128mb of ram are starting to show their age. iOS has also come a VERY long way since the days of iPhone OS 2.

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Just spewing hot air out here but if I were to guess today what the future holds it would be a new iPhone announced in June and then in September an iPod announcement where the classic is killed, and the touch becomes simply the iPod. simplify the iOS ecosystem to the iPhone, iPad, and iPod.

That actually makes sense. Aside from the touch, the ipod line is pretty much dead. I know of maybe one person here has the latest nano and the same who owns the latest shuffle. Doesn't seem like there is much of a market for these devices anymore. Maybe it's just me.
 
I admit that the iPod might not be as large as it once was, but don't get me wrong the iPod (particularly the touch) have a huge importance in the Apple product line up.
Students anywhere from grades 6-8 get iPod touches and get used to IOS. Eventually they get cell phones in high school and a computer for College.
Apple is essentially hooking them on the whole eco system concept.

So yes, the iPod touch is in a need of an overhaul in some aspects: an aging processor, a laughable camera, and lack of ram. But as of now its low price point and lack of competition are making apple quite a bit of money with this high profit margin product.

Apple won't axe it.
 
Although it's a particularly subjective story, with an intentionally 'attention grabbing' headline for click throughs, there is some merit in differentiating the iPod touch from the iPhone. Then again, the whole point of the touch is to offer an the iPhone experience to those who are either still stuck in a phone contract or don't want to commit to a 2 year payment plan.

It's exactly why I bought a 1st gen touch, because I still had a year left on my contract. I even continued with a touch / Nokia combo for another few years before I finally gave in to an iPhone.

Saying it is irrelevant by examining percentages is a dangerous game though, because i'm certain it still makes Apple a hell of a lot of money.
 
The iPod Touch does one thing most of the Apple product line is lacking, it provides a low cost introduction to the Apple ecosystem. I've long wanted a Macbook Air, but owning one means taking a $1k plunge pretty much blind. The new iPad is very nice, but even on the low end it's a $500 device. With a long contract the iPhone has a low upfront price, but in the end you're probably looking at well over $1k over the course of the contract.

Had Apple made the decision to go with a huge price cut on the iPad 2 as some of the rumor sites speculated they would it might have taken the place of the iPod Touch as the budget introductory device. Having a device to get people using iTunes, buying apps, getting familiar with iOS is worth a lot more than just the profit from the sales of the device.

As several posters have said, someone who owns an iPod Touch is much more likely to go on to own an iPhone or some form of Macbook.
 
Makes sense. It is the cheapest method for getting into the apple ecosystem without a contract. Once you get one of those and have access to the full blown Apple/iCloud/iTunes/iBooks/App Store/etc system, it really shows its worth. The user is likely to start getting other Apple products to take more advantage of that.

I came into Apple through the iPhone in 2007. The ecosystem was a good part of what got me to stay and get other Apple products.
 
We just purchased several hundred for a pilot projects, and will purchase several thousand if this works out.

We looked at every option from every supplier and the iPod touch was so much better than the competition there was really no other option.
 
I waited quite a while to adopt the iPhone, because the last thing I wanted was to try to make phone calls with an iPod touch interface. I finally got an iPhone 4, because I used a HTC droid first and it was awful after the first month. I came begging to Apple to save me from Android OS and the associated crashes, bugs, etc.., My iPhone is jailbroken of course.

I think it would not be too hard to take the iPhone to a different level as the "swiss army knife" of hand held electronics devices, to let the iPad be the "computer and tv away from your computer and tv" and to more finely hone the iPod touch as a hand held media/ entertainment management center (perhaps a shade bit larger, say the size of a slim cd case) which integrates well with virtually most any input or output device, from mics to cameras both still and video, to hd tvs, to 2000 Watt hi fi stereo systems. That would be awesome imo.:)

But dump altogether? I hope not.
 
The iPod Touch does one thing most of the Apple product line is lacking, it provides a low cost introduction to the Apple ecosystem. I've long wanted a Macbook Air, but owning one means taking a $1k plunge pretty much blind. The new iPad is very nice, but even on the low end it's a $500 device. With a long contract the iPhone has a low upfront price, but in the end you're probably looking at well over $1k over the course of the contract.

Had Apple made the decision to go with a huge price cut on the iPad 2 as some of the rumor sites speculated they would it might have taken the place of the iPod Touch as the budget introductory device. Having a device to get people using iTunes, buying apps, getting familiar with iOS is worth a lot more than just the profit from the sales of the device.

As several posters have said, someone who owns an iPod Touch is much more likely to go on to own an iPhone or some form of Macbook.

Not in my case

iPod touch 4G was decent, some features were horrendous like the camera, the app store was able to negate that.

That being said, iOS is too old and I'm getting an Android Phone with ICS instead of an iPhone.
And I use a Windows 7 computer. Go figure
 
...That being said, iOS is too old and I'm getting an Android Phone with ICS instead of an iPhone.
...
And when iOS 6 comes out will Android ICS be too old and you'll switch the other way?

So what features are drawing you to Android that iOS doesn't have? Especially the phone that you are getting?
 
If they shipped unlocked iPhones for $200, that would be a good idea, but they would never do that, as it would undermine the subsidized iPhones that they make so much money on.

There is a market for kids, or people who don't want smartphones, or live in NYC and want an iDevice to go with the 4G LTE DROID.
 
And when iOS 6 comes out will Android ICS be too old and you'll switch the other way?

So what features are drawing you to Android that iOS doesn't have? Especially the phone that you are getting?

Let see

New interface( capacitive buttons rather than one home button)
Live wallpapers
Widgets
Multiple Homescreens
New Lock function screen
Camera UI
Face unlock
3D multi tasking
Smooth notification center
New Music user interface
Customizable keyboards
Browser that isn't safari
New app drawer

Only listed ones that I can think of the top of my head...

Just a new experience and navigating through ICS is just very exciting :cool:
 
As several posters have said, someone who owns an iPod Touch is much more likely to go on to own an iPhone or some form of Macbook.

Actually, its because I have an iPod Touch that I went android for my phone and got the Verizon Galaxy Nexus. Why have two devices running the same OS?

I do have a MacBook Pro.
 
...
3D multi tasking
...
Browser that isn't safari
...
Only listed ones that I can think of the top of my head...
From your list I can see where you would go the ICS route. However the list leaves 1 question...

What the heck is "3D multi tasking"? (Too lazy to look it up.) It sounds like a stupid buzz phrase.

As for the Browser, that's personal choice, but I'm glad to not have to use Chrome.

The new interface(s) you mentioned, sometimes they're better, sometimes they're not. And sometimes it's just personal preference.
 
Apple shouldn't dump the iPod touch at all.
Apple should look to improve on it, stick a 128gb drive and better display in there. Great machine otherwise. I loved how long the battery lasts on my iPod compared to my iPhone. At the point where I'm considering using my iPod as my main MP3 player just so I can listen to my music on my way home from work!
 
Actually, its because I have an iPod Touch that I went android for my phone and got the Verizon Galaxy Nexus. Why have two devices running the same OS?

I do have a MacBook Pro.

I ended up consolidating. Now instead of having a separate iPod, I just have one device. It's nice to have one, small device. I would go the Android + iPod Touch route if I was in an area that was heavily Verizon, like NYC, however.
 
From your list I can see where you would go the ICS route. However the list leaves 1 question...

What the heck is "3D multi tasking"? (Too lazy to look it up.) It sounds like a stupid buzz phrase.

As for the Browser, that's personal choice, but I'm glad to not have to use Chrome.

The new interface(s) you mentioned, sometimes they're better, sometimes they're not. And sometimes it's just personal preference.

3D interface showing multitasking apps running in the background

Safari was far too restrictive, I tried downloading a picture and was scratching my head wondering my that function was not present.
 
Clicked the link. Read the title and subtitle. Heard this in my head:

"I'm a tech pundit. I think I know better than Apple how to make even more than 6 quadrillion dollars a week. Here's how..."

Stopped reading.

The fact that you get 12 likes for your post shows the mentality of people on this forum....the 'iSheep' herd that love Apple blindly and don't want to hear any counter arguments. Y'all would be a good fit in 1984.
 
That's an absurd idea, the iPod touch is a great device, it's just currently underpowered.

What Apple needs to do is make a 5.3 inch iPod touch with a 1440x960 IPS display, with a dual or quad-core Cortex A15, a PowerVR SGX600 series GPU, and 1GB of RAM. For $299. (More realistically, they'd make a larger iPhone and have the iPod touch the same size, which would hopefully be around 4.4 inches.)

That would be one huge hit, and it would be one awesome portable gaming system.
 
The fact that you get 12 likes for your post shows the mentality of people on this forum....the 'iSheep' herd that love Apple blindly and don't want to hear any counter arguments. Y'all would be a good fit in 1984.

What? Dumb criticisms are just that, dumb. Bad 'counter arguments' are bad.

Since when was finding fault with Apple some badge of independent thinking? It's not. It's usually just some resentful neckbeard who wants to be above it all.
 
The iPod Touch is still a great option for a minor. Lots of parents would like to buy their kid an iPod that plays games, takes pictures and video and has email/safari and whatnot, but aren't willing to pay for an expensive monthly 2-year contract. I often see young tweens with them instead of the Gameboys/Walkmans/point-and-shoot cameras that I had as a kid.

Also, many adults don't want to update to a smartphone because of, again, the monthly fee with a two year contract. The data plans are far more expensive than a simple "dumb phone". So I've seen people get an iPod Touch for certain things, but stick with their old flip phone for texts and calls. In fact, I did exactly that until the iPhone 4S came out. It took that long for the iPhone to come out with a camera that matched my Sony Ericsson "dumb phone".

So I'd say that they're still a very viable option for a lot of people.
 
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