A tribute to the iPod Classic -- RIP, old friend
The iPod Classic, the standard for portable music for over a decade, has been discontinued due to a lack of availability of the parts needed to make it. While current generations exist, each with their own features that make them unique in their own way, nothing Apple currently sells matches the staggering storage space and rugged durability of the classic. I bought my last iPod five years ago, and it still sits in my car, ready to bring the joy of music to my ears at any given moment.
My iPod still runs perfectly, like the faithful workhorse it was bred to be. But one day it will die, and that will be a day of mourning. It will be a loss that, thanks to eBay, will be very expensive to get over.
Since the iPod's introduction it has seen many forms, from the original bulky box to the sleek, but brutally lacking in storage for the price, iPod Touch. Some have asked why anyone could possibly need 160 GB of music on their person at all times. Those people have never driven for a living. The iPod Classic introduced a level of freedom into the entertainment options of travelers that previously required piles of dusty CD holders to even begin to approach. Even at the top level of the iPod Touch, 64 GB for the same price you once got 120 GB, you're barely scratching the surface of what came before.
For music fans -- those of us who already have an iPhone for pictures and games -- the loss of the iPod classic is a deep one. To this day it remains the best MP3 player ever produced, capable of playing videos if you wanted, but excelling at creating music experiences. With the advent of Genius it became one of the world's greatest jukeboxes, taking the music experiences you've shared with it and building playlists of similar songs in your collection in seconds.
We will miss you, iPod Classic. In your honor here is a historical video covering your growth, evolution, and sadly, the harbingers of your death.
Enjoy.
