Today I saw an interesting article on the Dutch iOS news site iCulture:
http://www.iculture.nl/ipod-tijdperk-voorbij/
They think the iPod will eventually disappear. Will Apple release a new touch on September 9th?
There doesn't seem to be an 'English' link for that article, or did I miss that?
Several years ago, or more precisely, not long after the meteoric rise of the original iPhone, the iPodTouch was a great way to get virtually all features of the iPhone, less the ability to make phone calls, and of course without the pesky carrier contract, which was a low cost option for those attached to their dumb phones, and even more so, great for teens, most of whom couldn't afford post-paid contracts.
However somewhere along the line in the last 5-6 years, everyone and their uncle seem to have switched to a smartphone, and even pre-teens as young as 7 or 8 are seen with increasing frequency, sporting smartphones, no doubt bought for them by anxious parents who want to be able to reach, or know where their children are, at any given time. That virtual explosion of smartphone saturation, coupled with the runaway success of the iPad and tablets would all by itself just about relegate the venerable iPod, in all its iterations, to quaint niche status to be enjoyed by a small percentage of smartphone hold-outs and young children.
So yes, I'd say the once mighty iPod is for all intents and purposes dead; but that's okay because it has merely been replaced by something that can do all the same things plus a lot more.
I could see them keeping one colorful version such as the Shuffle or Nano for the very young, and the Touch or Classic could be revived as an audiophile-grade music player, with onboard DAC, but with regards to the latter, given Apple's recent track record of lack of interest in niche product categories, I'd say it's a possibility but I wouldn't bet the farm on it.
As for your last point "Will Apple release a new touch on September 9th?", I haven't heard or seen any indication or rumors to that effect, so I'm inclined to think NO, but I could very well be proven wrong.
