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iPod Classic's Future in Doubt Due to Shrinking Market for 1.8" Hard Drives?
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just purchased applecare for my 160gb for $20 off ebay. I think Apple is going to keep the classic but they will use flash drives. Too many people love the click wheel.
Depends how you define 'better.' See e.g. The Paradox of Choice:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Paradox_of_Choice:_Why_More_Is_Less
Having too many choices actually makes people more anxious and less content with their decisions once they've made them. Not sure if Apple figured this out intentionally or just lucked into the right strategy, but there's certainly a reason why their relatively simple product line is successful.
I don't think that Apple will abruptly cancel the Classic. And who knows how many they already have manufactured that they could still sell even if the manufacturers stop producing new ones. Replacement of defective drives could become a real issue for existing Classic owners as well.
SSD would be overkill. Plain flash memory would be fine and much cheaper. SSD is built to be fast, with lots of cleverness to handle the technologies problems with small writes. The memory in an iPod doesn't need to be fast, if it can read 1 MB per second that is plenty. And you don't ever write small items to an iPod, the smallest is a 4 MB song.
Also, for practical reasons all these SSD drives ship in a case that looks like a 2.5 inch hard drive, so you can just throw your hard drive out and put an SSD drive in. Apple would want the raw chips inside and fill up every bit of space in the iPod. Like the new MacBook Pro batteries that fill up every bit of empty space, Apple would want to arrange the memory chips inside an iPod in the best possible way.
I really don't think it falls down to that, as the Nano also has a clickwheel. People like the Classics because of the massive storage benefit they have over every other iPod.
I hope it doesn't happen. I kind of hate the interface on the iPod Touch and I really like the storage of the iPod Classic.
If they indeed decide to ax the classic, I'll move on to a different player. It's that simple.
If they indeed decide to ax the classic, I'll move on to a different player. It's that simple.
I would venture to say the two biggest reasons for people purchasing the Classic are:
- Capacity.
- Click wheel interface.
Personally, I believe that SSD for the Classic won't happen. Rather they will change to Flash memory. Since the Classic is thicker, they can use cheaper Flash memory chips. We may see a Classic with 128GB storage in the near future using 16GB x 8 instead of the more costly 32GB x 4.
You're spot on, those are the two biggest reason for some people to prefer the Classic. For me, those two are very important ones. I have an 80 GB and I STILL am quite cramped with that space. I like to bike with my ipod, and I can do everything using the click wheel without having to look at. And for me there's a third reason why I prefer the Classic - because I specifically DON'T want to always be distracted by the net. If I'm studying, I want my study music with me, but it would be WAY too distracting for me to know I could jump online with the touch of a finger.
This is too bad. I have a classic that is still going from early 2006. For someone who just listens too music and wants a big drive, they are perfect.
Apple would be complete fools to let the Classic go!!
I love my Classic, I was going to buy a Touch, but I went for the Classic instead and I do not regret it in the slightest!
I don't care if its all "old technology" and flash drives are the latest thing - people buy the classic cause they want high capacity, the next down from 120GB Classic is the 32GB Touch - and I have a 60GB iTunes Library, (and I'm sure many others have a lot in iTunes) and I find 32GB an insufficient amount of space - and also the 32GB Touch is an extortionate price for 32GB!
I love my Classic, I was going to buy a Touch, but I went for the Classic instead and I do not regret it in the slightest!
I don't care if its all "old technology" and flash drives are the latest thing - people buy the classic cause they want high capacity, the next down from 120GB Classic is the 32GB Touch - and I have a 60GB iTunes Library, (and I'm sure many others have a lot in iTunes) and I find 32GB an insufficient amount of space - and also the 32GB Touch is an extortionate price for 32GB!
I have around 140GB of music, and once I finished ripping some CD's I still have kicking around and adding some more music from backup, I'll probably have close to 160-170GB of music.
I'm not going to, therefore, to try to pick choose the music I want as my tastes change from day to day. If things keep going the way they do I'm going to purchase an Archos 320GB device to store my music on, which uses drag and drop music copying and supports AAC.
And if you read the context it was in regards to replacing the iPod Classic 120GB with a hypothetical iPod Touch 64GB - that is what people are up in arms about; replacing the iPod Classic 120G with something smaller in storage capacity.
I might not care if it were possible to upgrade the storage via SDCards, but that isn't going to happen anytime soon.
Personally, I don't see the Classic going away.
The current HD used is a one platter drive to maintain the thickness of the Classic. Before we had 80GB (1 platter) and 160GB (2 platter) versions. The 160GB version was thicker than the 80GB one.
Now we only have the 120GB (1 platter) version.
My guess is that within 2 years from now we will see a solid state Classic from that point forward. I could see Apple going away from SSD to flash memory in the Classic as well -- just like the iPhone, iPod touch, Nano and Shuffle.
With 32GB flash memory chips being used in the iPhone and expected to be in the iPod touch (32 and 64GB) models, with the space in the Classic I would venture to say we could see 128GB to 256GB models. Cost is the issue. The rotating HD is still cheaper. Give flash memory a year or two.
What on earth are you going on about ; do you even know what SSD means? SSD is flash.
I agree. I don't know anyone that has bought a classic in the past year. It's either a shuffle for exercise, a nano for a low-end iPod for general purpose stuff, or a Touch if they're going all-out. The classic just seems out-dated nowadays!
No it isn't. A solid-state drive "uses SRAM/DRAM (as opposed to flash memory)" - taken almost word-for-word from here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solid_State_Drive
Incorrect; there is still a traditional hard disk and a huge amount of memory is strapped to it - it doesn't do away with the hard disk. If things were stored on SRAM/DRAM, it would require constant power all the time to ensure that none of the contents are lost.
The word today kiddies is called 'volatile' as it, "SRAM/DRAM is volatile memory because contents are lost when power is cut off".
Right now iPod Classic already has RAM for caching the music catalogue.
the reason there is no market for the 1.8" HDD is because Apple is too stupid to put them in the old 160GB shell. Jeez, it's not hard, just keep the classic around for another year, and max it out at 250GB, that way, everyone is happy
I filled up my 160GB all with music, come on, I know for a fact I'm not the only one, it's the closed mindedness that you and Apple both have that will kill my favorite iPod
Yes I do.
I would humbly suggest that you read up a bit on how SSD and Flash memory work.
In a nutshell, an SSD device, while it uses Flash memory, has a HD interface such as PATA or SATA. So while the storage part is based upon Flash memory, the interface to the outside world goes through the traditional HD methodology. That is why you can replace a HD in a MacBook with an SSD device.
Flash memory on the other hand, is accessed more like RAM memory. Flash memory is not volatile which is why the touch, Nano and Shuffle use it.
Incorrect.
SSD drive indicates use of Flash memory so the data is non-volatile or persistent if you prefer. SSD drive using Static RAM (SRAM) or Dynamic RAM (DRAM) is called a RAM-drive or something similar since it needs power to retain it's data. While both devices are based upon solid state memory, one is volatile and the other is non-volatile.
Currently, the iPod Classic uses a 1.8 inch HD. Some think that it will be replaced with a 1.8 inch SSD. In my case, I believe that Apple will transition to straight Flash memory and use cheaper 16GB chips (as opposed to 32GB that the iPhone 3GS uses and expect to be used in the new touch when it comes out) to get the capacity to 128GB. Plenty of space in the Classic to do this.
This whole issue is based on the potential of the hdd manufacturers discontinuing the product. What part of that is closed mindedness on apples part?
Even more so, this is speculation that they haven't even commented on themselves.
The reason the 1.8" HDD are not finding a market is because Apple refuses to put them in the iPod classic. According to Steve Jobs: "People don't want fat iPods." I think that's ridiculous, It's a few extra millimeters on the back of your iPod for 2x the memory.
disagree.
shuffle for working out, yes, but my classic is money sitting atop my Bose Sounddock - have all my tunes at my fingertips.