Apple's new iPod classic
By Paul Miller 
posted September 5th 2007 12:52PM
posted September 5th 2007 12:52PM
posted September 5th 2007 12:52PM
A look back on popular stories from today in a specific year.
Now that we've thrown 'em off the trail, use the form below to get in touch with the people at Engadget. Please fill in all of the required fields because they're required.
nothing new here. no real incentive to upgrade from my 5G
is that 40,000 songs in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?
Am I the only person here that doesn't think the Classic looks good at all? Something about the brushed metal just really doesn't do it for me on this thing.
i was so happy wen i saw the ipod touch till it sed 16 GIGS! that seriously takes the mick. i;m getting me one of these.
No optical out? You can freakin use this to replace a component.
Disappointting, very disappointing. I wanted an iPod Touch with 160 gigs. 16 gigs, won't even cover the music I want on it, let alone the video. WHY CAN"T WE GET A REAL UPDATED iPOD!!! The "Classic" is just that, a repackage of the same old 5th Gen with a larger HD. Is Apple confused?!? People that need 160 gigs of space on their iPod are also the ones that care greatly about getting larger, widescreen video. People that only need 16 gigs of space probably aren't that much into entertainment anyway and should just get the iPhone. That Archos 605 WiFi is looking better and better...
http://www.archos.com/products/gen_5/archos_605wifi/index.html?country=us&lang=en
No, I don't work for them but I wish I did.
uh I have 120 gigs+ of music (that I listen to almost all of still), video isn't all that important to me, I would rather just be able to hold my entire music library.
Hey sport. The new iPod "classic" is a not a rehashed 5th gen. The display features the same display as the new iPod Touch. I.e., 163 pixels per inch compared to the iPhone's 160 pixles per inch. Thus, the iPhone classic features a completely improved design coupled with the very best in screen quality.
Apple's not introducing a 160 GB iPod Touch for two reasons: (1) It would completely alienate and outrage early iPhone users, who are already watching new users get twice the memory for $200 less three months after the launch; and (2) Apple's decision to use flash drives for the touch line negates the possibility of higher capacities. All of this could change over the next few years.
Any word on if they are going to update the GUI on our 5G iPods w/Videos this go around? I would love to finally have a search feature.
Hoorah! I always wanted a 5.6 Gen ipod!
Who'd want an widescreen 6 Gen ipod with a decent amount of storage, when they can have 160GB in a 5.6 Gen version!
Oh well, guess I'll wait another 12 months till they add enough storage to the ipod touch. I would have been happy with a harddrive and a slightly fatter ipod. I mean 8mm difference between the iphone is meaningless. A bigger battery and harddrive wouldn't have made the ipod uglier than the Zune. Apples Anorexia is defeating functionality yet again.
Ipod Classic, oh really! Pathetic!
Well Apple, you had a nice run but as soon as anyone starts creating a "Classic" version of their own products, that means they've fallen off. Vive la market diversity!!!
Right -- because the Classic/New strategy didn't work for OS X [insert obnoxious rolling-eyed emoticon].
Looks like this is what I'm getting cause Apple screwed me with 16gb worth of Touch crap. I was so excited and ready to get the Touch too! :( 2nd generation for me.
This lot was pretty disappointing, Apple seem to be losing their touch...
Actually, this is the most diverse iPod product line Apple's released so far. What they've lost isn't accessibility or creativity but rather a reprieve from backlash, which is never afforded the invasively familiar. In other words, they've lost geek respect, which they didn't have to begin with.
I think this Classic will be the big seller until they sort the realy, realy crap Touch memory. 80 Gig sounds good for Classic (160 Gig is actually more impressive than I ever thought), not that I will buy one. I will sleep soundly tonight knowing that Jobs has just saved me a couple of hundred pounds, my shinny 5Gen still rules in the look stakes without a dowt.
The Touch is a copout to stop it destroying the iPhone sales, how much was it again for 8 Gig of memory, funny. Wouldn’t be so bad if it had some memory card support. Very disappointed, I switched off with the 8 Gig – 16 Gig talk.
DAMNIT, I want a touch screen! And 16GB is not even enough for half of my music.. This is really getting dumb.
The iPod with the big screen has NO ROOM for video.. this ipod, a "classic", has all the room in the world... UGHH
What I Want:
iPod Touch with 80GB HDD... NOT A 5.6 GEN IPOD
R.I.P White iPod, you served us well.
A little off topic, but, do you think they will upgrade the 5G iPods with the new interface?
Good question. Even though the 5.5G iPods got the "search function", the regular 5G iPods got a little tweak. When you are searching through all your songs, letters will come up (A, B, C.. etc.). But, that was it, I believe.
I wouldn't count on getting a "cover flow" update though. I think it would require more processing power that the older iPods just don't have.
Wow, I knew at the start of this morning that this would be a total disappoint for me. I, too, wanted a 80-160GB iPod Touch, but also I didn't want it to rip-off its own big brother, the iPhone, at the same time!
I'm feeling the classic iPod though, because I want a brighter and more colorful screen (and need the space too). My 5G iPod (60GB) seems to have a screen with washed-out colors. So, I'd really like to view my videos in more vivid detail. Other than that, I have no reason to upgrade right now.
Just looking at the iPod Touch, it makes me want to buy an iPhone right now! Argh!
The question to ask is whether the iPod Touch will have the same content/app/drag-drop restrictions as the iPhone. If the Touch is unrestricted, then it will become the preferred device in terms of flexibility.
(Even the ARM9-saddled 67MHz DS Lite has music sequencing and recording software available to it -- why not the iPhone? I'd love to be able to compose an original piece on the iPhone, as I can on the bloody Treo 650.)
tell me why the fuck I just bought a 30 gig ipod for $249 and nobody told me there would be a 80gig coming out a week later for the same price? What the hell should I do now?
Actually, Engadget advised you not to buy a new iPod last month:
http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/16/we-think-you-shouldnt-buy-an-ipod-right-now/
Besides, if you "just bought" your iPod in the last thirty days, you can swap it for the newer model.
Ugh, nice try Apple, but i'll stick with my Creative Zen. While 160 gigs is nice, i'll gladly take a lower price and higher feature set anyday. Plus I don't have to deal with your file lockdown and ITunes bullsh*t.
Get back to me when you catch up with Creative's innovation and then we'll talk.
Long time Apple hater here (since the Apple ][ days), but I'm very close to buying my first ever Apple product. I can't even use my normal "overpriced" argument this time - AFAIK these are the cheapest players you can get with either of those capacities.
The only real competition seems to be Archos, which are nice except I don't care about video at all, so I don't want to pay the price in terms of money, size, battery life for a nicer screen.
Ugh, my friends are gonna make fun of me for buying Apple but I think I'm gonna have to do it...
OK, I liked the new nano. But this... I don't care much for it.
I think this confirms that this model is the end of the line for
the non-touch iPod. Why else would they name it "classic"? Ugh! They
just couldn't figure out how to package a hard drive in the iTouch
and keep the aesthetics/price reasonable. I'm guessing we'll see the
iPod classic for a year or two at most, then see only lines of iPod touch
and nano options.
Still, since my old 40GB iPod is failing and although I really like the
touch screen, I must have the capacity, I'll probably pick up one
of these and join the holding pattern for the higher capacity
touch model.
An unlockable 4GB iPhone for $299 is also strangely compelling, although I'll probably just keep my N80 and N770....
Hi
Does anyone know of a company which sells products, such as the iphone to people outside of the USA. Surely there is huge market for someone who develops a good reputation for not ripping people off, not charging exorbitant fees (but still makes a bit of $/item), who resells goods to people from the USA to people everywhere else in the world.
Thanks
Cam
So, they prettied up the UI, prettied up the shell and labelled it next gen? I hope they also prettied up the box and the packaging. The sheeps will waste no time to abandon their current iPod and shell out more dough to Mr. Jobs to get that "new gen" iPod.
Where's the classic Wifi love Steve?
Stop!
Don't spend 99 cents to download songs! Pay a one-time fee and download all you want!
This is worth a few minutes to check out.
Good lord, I think the "anybody but Apple crowd" is actually losing their minds. Half the "Apple teh suxxor" stuff makes no sense whatsoever, and most of the rest is the kind of feature-nerd blithering that you would have thought would have burned itself out by now. I mean, "har har it doesn't have a radio Apple is stoopid and bad" is kinda..... pathetic, at this point.
And "I'll use the money I save to buy a 7" LCD with a remote to use in my car, so screw all that integration jazz"? Holy crap, overcompensating, much?
I mean, I'm all for anyone using whatever gear floats their boat, but do it because of preference, not for some really really half-assed trumped up argument about how the iPods are just popular because of the "sheep", or how they are massively overpriced, or lack this or that "critical" feature that apparently 95% of the buying public can easily do without.
It's solid stuff with a feature set that seems to work for the vast majority of people, competitively priced, elegantly designed and possessing the UI that set the bar for everyone else-- and it plugs into the most online popular music store on the planet.
Not your cup of tea? Awesome. Creative wants your money, for sure. But please spare us the sneering contempt and contrived, every more tortuous arguments about how your taste in consumer electronics gear obviously represents some kind of objective truth.
By calling iPod users sheep, people prove themselves to be sheep for other other brands. Gauging someone's individuality by the brand name of their PMP is tragically misguided.
A reactionary consumer is as affected by brand names as a brand name loyalist. The trick is not to care and buy what works best.
*why* does this look like a bar of soap? that's so cheap looking...
and who needs 160GB of music and videos?
it's not like it's .flac or the videos are high-res
is 160gb TOO big i barely haue that on my laptop i use for itunes
"Lol @ the 'better accessories' ?
Why? Dont see ANY other music player from Creative, Arcos, Samsung, Sony or any other of the so called big players in this market which I can control from my car headunit. No need to mess about fiddling with a second device, you just plug in the ipod, stick it in the glovebox and it works the same as a cd changer or Mp3 CDR. It charges it, it controls it. The best that you can hope for on other players is input via the headphone socket to a couple of aux inputs, a crappy FM transmitter or a shoddy tape interface, all of which need you to manipulate the device itself to navigate track selections.
I see manufacturers like Alpine, Kenwood, Pioneer, even SONY have a proper Ipod interface. Sony dont even have any integration between their very own products and their music players, so if that is the result of better accessories, then bring it on."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hey you stupid bastard you can drag & drop on the iPod & could since it's inception. Obviously you don't know what you are talking about. I swear you fucking idiot MS waterboys haven't got a clue. Maybe they didn't make it easy enough for fucking geniuses such as yourself. Buy what you want by why in the hell do you give a shit what other people buy...you're a fucking moron that (as usual) doesn't know what you are talking about. Put down the hand lotion & think before you speak poser.
Its obvious you've never tried any other product. There are many, many car products with a USB interface or a simple audio in. Doesn't get any better than that. Some even offer control via the interface. And yes, one could find one and a cheaper media player. Its not that hard. Apple = Don't think, don't look, just listen to us and be cool, even if it costs twice as much.
I have a Creative Zen Vision (original) no ipod can touch it. 640x480 4.3" screen (absolutely stunning) Removable Replaceable Upgradeable Battery (I can get over 5-6 hours video playback I have never killed it playing music. It plays divx/xvid (though it really needs aac/ac3 audio support to be complete but still better than ipod. It does not need a remote dongle since it has it built in. It does not need Dock support since it has it built in. It does not need FM radio support since it has it built in (and record from radio) it does not need mic support since it has it buit in. IT does not need memory card attachment to download my camera since it has the CF slot built in. It uses ALL standard ports. Standard Charge jack (same as PSP jack) Standard Mini A USB port. Standard Headphone jacks and video jacks. NOTHING PROPRIETARY except I still have to use creative software to process files BUT its like explorer. No conversion of compatible files and its 2 way access I can copy to the unit and copy FROM the unit back to the PC.
Sadly the new Vision W sucks :-( (half resolution screen)
Its still the best media player currently in existence. I have docks skins silicone skins leather cases batteries remotes etc.. for it. In fact it only needs to things to make it nearly perfect. Get rid of the damned database driven music access and give me straight up folder access and get rid of the damned software replaced with mass storage access through and through.
The new Ipod touch gives me promise. I am hoping it being based on OSX will make it highly "hackable" and allow people to give me straight MSC access and no more database crap. sadly its still hardware wise highly proprietary.
OK, I admit I did not know that. But I still believe that it should have been a widescreen display. I don't want to watch my widescreen movies (my preferred format) on a screen that is square, thereby making the widescreen image even smaller to keep the image wide. Those who love video entertainment would prefer the widescreen format and a larger storage device than even the 16 gig flash memory offered. I want an iPod that will do that. I don't want to have to only bring part of my entertainment with me. Too much work deciding what to bring and what to leave. I should be able to do that NOW!!! It's 2007 and we have the technology. Do I have to get the Archos 605 WiFi to be able to do this? They have few if any accessories to make it convenient to go from pocket to car to desk, etc...
Reactionaries are the Satanists of consumers: they rail against Christianity but worship "Christianity by the back door" (T.S. Eliot). Consumer agnosticism is a far less limiting position than pseudo-indie consumerism.
Apple-bashing is the pastime of slaves. Ignoring Apple's popularity (and using their products only when advisable) is the strategy of the free.
Brushed metal and round edges?
Both the Nano and Classic are no where near as slick as their predecessors. The iPod touch has a much sexier design, but of course, its memory capacity too low (for now).
Apple has gotten very good at producing separate products that don't directly compete with themselves. They WANT people to own a shuffle, a nano, a classic, and an ipod touch (or iphone). So you can benefit from all the separate device's strengths. It would be shooting themselves in the foot if they were to produce a product that combined ALL those strengths together - then you'd only WANT that one device, so they'd only be able to sell you one device, and one set of accessories.
I'm sure Apple also hold-back bringing out new devices too soon, you can almost guarantee that there will be larger capacity iPod-touch in the near future, the same goes for the 3G iPhone. They just WANT you to WANT to upgrade in the near future. The technology already exists. They just don't want YOU to have it, yet.
Get a free Apple iPod Touch @ http://www.freeappleipodtouch.com/
Being able to finally carry around my ENTIRE mp3 collection and still have room for it's continuing growth is awesome. w00hoo! Until i fill it up i guess.. but again wooh00!
I'm pretty sure all that Flash-based MP3 players have done for us is allowed music-loving babes to wear tighter-fitting jeans.
Praise Apple.