You're the Pundit: Does the classic iPod have a future?

My iPod PHOTO (early 2005?) is still my car juke box and going strong!! just wish it had 160 instead of 60 GB......

...I suppose other things - like iCloud may make other solutions evolutionarily displace this functionality, but not for a while I hope.......

I agree with many of the other comments, it's fantastic when connected to the car stereo

I think the classic will still be useful in the car. So many car stereos have iPod interfaces, OEM as well as aftermarket...people with large libraries would like to have it all on hand. Hence, the Classic. If they got rid of it....I would be sad.

I actually considered this a few months ago and wrote a post about it. I use my old iPod Classic in my car. It stays in the glove box and I control it with the car's built in audio unit, including steering wheel controls. I have all my music and audiobooks with me all the time and I love it. I only take it out about once every couple of weeks to sync new podcasts.

The Classic is perfect for that with it's huge storage capacity. I don't think it'll go away. Not so sure about he shuffle though. 

Storage capacity is my biggest gripe with the iPhone. I'm a music freak and my 30GB iPhone won't hold my library even when I compress it to 128k (using that helpful but inadequate iTunes sync feature). Additionally, 1) I OWN my music, why should I pay a cloud app service to charge me for access to my own music? 2) A cloud app may not be available to hold OR stream my music for who knows how long? Finally, won't a cloud app further compress my already-compressed music?

In short: I want space, not cyberspace.

I won't pretend to tell Apple what to do with it's products, but I can rely my story, of how I came to buy Apple products.

It started with the iPod nano, my son wanted one and up until that point in my life, I had never owned any Apple product. We went to the store, we played with the thing, I saw my son was really enjoying the product, so I bought it.

Then a funny thing happened, I started using the thing as much or more than my son.

So I went back to buy another nano, but by that time the iPod touch had just come out. I remember, it was unlike any product I had ever seen(I am not a tech junky), I bought it after doing a little research on other products. I really enjoyed it.

After that I bought my mom an iPod classic, which she loves, then I bought my wife and myself iPhones, and then I bought an iMac computer.

So for me it was the nano that introduced me to the quality of Apple products, for other's maybe it's the shuffle or the classic. I think as long as those products are making a profit, Apple could look at those products as a gateway to introducing customers to the world of Apple products.

It would be very short-sighted to discontinue all the non-touch iPods. As previously noted, there are situations where touch-screen devices are inappropriate. As someone who used an iPod Classic via my car stereo, I've found using a touch screen to be a dangerous experience. And believe me voice commands can end up being very random in a noisy car!! And you have to hold that button down.....

Those commentators who see the future as being streaming devices should remember that Apple sells its products globally.

There is still a huge part of this world where streaming would not work. In fact, I still have issues with streaming on my iMac, let alone on my iPhone! The broadband is just not up to it here and that's in a sizeable town in England!!

We don't have 100% 3G coverage worldwide. And until airlines introduce a data-streaming solution , long-haul flights will be music-free to a streaming only iPod.

A move to solid state would be a wise move, but at what cost? iPod Touches are not exactly cheap and their capacity is feeble if you are a music hound.

On the whole, I feel there is still a future for this type of device.

My 160GB Classic isn't full but it's getting close. There is no Flash memory iPod with the capacity I need. As another poster commented, I would buy a 250GB Classic right away if there were one.

There's no reason for Apple to discontinue the Classic. There's almost no development cost now - all they have to do is use newer drives when they become available. It's a mature product but not an obsolescent one.

Many people here in the comments are suggesting cloud-based streaming solutions instead of a high-capacity, music-only device. Let's summarize:
A streaming solution is not going to work while commuting on the subway, riding in a plane, driving through any location that has suboptimal cell service ... really, going anyplace without cell or wifi service.
A streaming solution uses a lot more battery power.
Also, let's look at the touch devices. Ever tried to use one at the gym? First of all, I'm constantly fearful of breaking it. I have to have a large case attached to my body to carry it around with me. I have to get that touch screen to respond with sweaty hands. If I'm out on my bicycle I have to focus and look at the darned thing to see what I'm doing just to fast-forward. If it's winter I have to take my gloves off to use it. And I don't want to pay the cost of a touch; I just want something to hold my music. And I want at least one handheld device that can hold my entire collection.
The Classic, Nano, and Shuffle really fill out the usage scenarios for people who want a simple music-playing device. The Classic may go flash-based, but I hope it doesn't go away. Most importantly, they have very accessible price points, especially for something used in an active lifestyle where damage becomes a possibility.

You have to remember, the majority of people out there are still using dumbphones. Those are the same people who won't adopt a cloud storage/streaming model for at least another ten years. Those are the same people who want CDs and a high capacity storage device so they can still feel like they have something physical that contains their music and videos. Those are the same people who aren't reading TUAW. So regardless of this poll, the classic is here to stay.