IPod Classic
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This 2004 iPod can stream music from Spotify
The "sPot" is a 4th-generation iPod Classic that can stream music from Spotify.
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This week in tech history: Apple pulls the plug on the iPod classic
At Engadget, we spend every day looking at how technology will shape the future. But it's also important to look back at how far we've come. That's what This Week in Tech History does. Join us every weekend for a recap of historical tech news, anniversaries and advances from the recent and not-so-recent past. This week, we're looking back at Apple's iPod classic, which was discontinued five years ago on September 9th, 2014.
Flickr Find: A real classic
With all the brouhaha surrounding Apple's iPod class action lawsuit making headlines this week, it's only fitting this week's Flickr Find is a lovely picture of a once forgotten, now revived iPod owned by Cole Camplese As pointed out by Cole, the best part about reviving an older device is rediscovering all the cool content that once was important, but has been forgotten over the years. Old podcasts, with their breaking news and cutting edge technology discussions, are an especially delightful listen. Do you have any old Apple devices kicking around? Have you revived them recently? Share your stories in the comments. Did you know that TUAW has a Flickr pool? And that we encourage readers to submit their own Apple related images? Please join and share with our group as we'd love to see your photos.
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.
Tim Cook on axing the iPod Classic: "We couldn't get the parts anymore"
Last month, Apple swiftly and quietly put an end to the venerable iPod Classic. No announcements were made, no funeral was held. Instead, all references to the Classic were casually removed from the iPod section on Apple's website, dashing the dreams of users who prefer -- nay, demand! -- 160GB of portable music storage. During yesterday's WSJD Live conference, Tim Cook fielded a question about the demise of the iPod Classic, noting that it was end-of-lifed because Apple simply couldn't source the parts anymore. And because the iPod Classic was, well, a classic that didn't move the needle sales-wise, Cook added that it wasn't worth the effort for Apple to devote engineering resources towards redesigning the device. "We would have to make a whole new product," Cook said, "the engineering work to do that would be massive."
iPodfather Tony Fadell laments the discontinuation of the iPod Classic
Apple two weeks ago unceremoniously killed the iPod Classic, the last vestige of Apple's iPod glory days. While the iPod shuffle, nano, and touch all remain, the form factor that became synonymous with the digital music revolution is decidedly nothing more than a memory now. In the wake of the iPod Classic's timely demise, Fast Company was able to touch base with Tony Fadell, the man largely credited with creating the iconic MP3 player. Fadell said he was sad to see the iPod Classic go, but understands that the advent of cloud computing made it all but inevitable. "I'm sad to see it go," Fadell admits in a phone interview. "The iPod's been a huge part of my life for the last decade. The team that worked on the iPod poured literally everything into making it what it was." Eighteen months after launch, the iPod owned the portable media player category, and for the next decade, it continued to do so. "Products just don't come around like that often," laments Fadell. "The iPod was one-in-a-million." Interestingly, Fadell adds that the iPod team at Apple was well aware, even back in the early 2000s, that streaming music would ultimately spell the end for the traditional hard drive based MP3 player. "We called it the 'celestial jukebox in the sky'", Fadell said. "And we have that now: music in the cloud." Fadell initially joined Apple back in February of 2001 where he was tasked with designing the iPod and orchestrating Apple's foray into the MP3 player market. Just six months later, Steve Jobs introduced the iPod to the world and Apple would forever be changed.
Apple kills iPod Classic in total silence
iPhone 6! iPhone 6 Plus! Apple Watch! Apple Pay! iPod Classic? Yes, in the midst of all the smartphones and watches flying about this morning, Apple took the opportunity to kill off the clickwheel-equipped iPod Classic that has somehow dodged every bullet imaginable. The iPod section on Apple.com now shows just the shuffle, nano, and touch, officially marking the end of an era for the music device that pushed Apple into the homes of millions of people.
RIP Click Wheel: Apple discontinues the iPod classic
Every time Apple holds one of its keynotes, we think to ourselves, "Maybe this is the year they'll kill off the iPod classic." Finally, after a years-long stay of execution, Apple's oldest living media player is going the way of the dodo. The company just reopened its online store after announcing two new iPhones and a smartwatch, and the iPod classic is conspicuously absent from the iPod section. The remaining options include the shuffle, nano and touch at the high end, with the max amount of storage being 64GB. If you're of a certain age, then, you can get ready to tell your grandchildren about the days when people carried 160GB of music in their pocket instead of streaming it all from the cloud. Oh, and get ready to explain what a spinning hard drive is, too.
Apple hit with $3 million damages in Japanese iPod click wheel dispute
Apple is no stranger to lawsuits targeting the iPhone and iPad, but over in Japan, it's the company's older iPod design that has landed it in hot water. Kyodo News reports that the Tokyo District Court ordered Apple to pay ¥300 million ($3.3 million) to Japanese inventor Norihiko Saito for infringing on a patent covering the touch-sensitive click wheel used in the iPod Classic and older models of its iconic music player. Saito's damages come more than five years after he filed the patent lawsuit, during which time he demanded damages of ¥10 billion ($101 million), based partly on the number of iPods Apple had sold during that period. Fortunately for Apple, the final figure was substantially less than Saito's demand and it'll only have to sell a few more iPhones to cover the cost.
Microsoft wants you to buy their products, to start offering cash for iPhones
Earlier in the month, Microsoft -- which would love for you to pick up one of its new second-generation Surface 2 tablets -- began offering iPad owners a paltry US$200 or more for a trade-in in hopes that you'd actually fall for the ploy, grab the cash and buy one of their beleaguered tablets. Now Forbes is reporting that Microsoft will be offering you a minimum of $200 for your iPhone 4s or iPhone 5 at some of the US and Canadian Microsoft Stores. In this case, the trade-in promotion is part of the #timetoswitch campaign, and Microsoft is hoping that you'll ditch your nice and relatively new iPhone for a Windows Phone instead of an iPhone 5s or 5c. Not that Microsoft seems desperate or anything, but they also have an online campaign that started a few weeks ago where they'll take any Apple, Android or BlackBerry device in return for a Visa gift card. I wonder how much they'll give me for that third-generation iPod classic that's sitting on the shelf... Forbes' Kelly Clay said it best: "Apple's impressive sales figures of the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c in the past few days mean millions of consumers are not only freshly tied into new contracts but overtly prefer the iOS platform over Windows as they waited to purchase the new line of iPhones -- and avoided purchasing a Windows Phone when they had the chance." It's beginning to look like Microsoft's business strategy for the near future is to become the leading vendor of used smartphones and tablets.
Apple adds $59 AppleCare+ for iPod classic and iPod touch
Apple has quietly added a US$59 AppleCare+ plan for the iPod classic and iPod touch. Like other products eligible for AppleCare+ plans, the iPod classic and iPod touch can now get an additional year of warranty coverage, a total of two years of phone support and two incidents of repair or replacement due to accidental damage (with an additional $29 fee to cover accidental damage when it occurs). Previously all iPods were only covered by the standard AppleCare plans, which don't offer accidental damage protection. Apple has also launched the AppleCare+ plan in Italy, France and the UK.
Create a bootable iPod classic
Remember the iPod classic? That chunky little slab of plastic in which you could store thousands of songs on an internal hard disk drive? Well, if you do, and if you still happen to have one laying around somewhere collecting dust, Chris Breen over at Macworld has the perfect job for it: using an iPod classic as a bootable emergency drive. This isn't a new trick by any means. I still have my old fourth-generation iPod within arm's reach in case I need to boot a Firewire-equipped Mac, and I even wrote about this in my now-obsolete 2007 e-book Take Control of Your iPod: Beyond the Music. But Breen and the crew at Macworld have updated the process for the USB-equipped iPod classic, with a few caveats thrown in for good measure. First, since the iPod classic isn't vented, it can get hot if you keep it hooked up as an external drive for a while. Second, it's slow, so your boot times aren't going to be exactly speedy. Breen points to another post by his Macworld cohort Dan Frakes in which the latter blogger shows how to install Mountain Lion on a bootable external disk. It's a bit of work, but if you have an iPod classic that's no longer being used, at least you can give it a job to do in case of emergency.
Win a collector's item: a Behringer iNuke Boom Junior speaker dock
I'm usually very good about turning around reviews; usually within a week or two of receiving a review device or accessory I've had a chance to try it out, take photos, and write it up. But there are two things that have been sitting in my office unopened for a few months, and I finally decided to get going on them. One item is a Parrot AR.Drone 2.0 that I'll be writing up shortly now that the weather in Colorado is cooperating (except for the winter storm hitting tomorrow...), but today's focus is on what's in the big box in the corner of my office -- the Behringer iNuke Boom Junior iPod/iPhone speaker dock. Sometimes procrastination is a good thing. I found out pretty quickly while starting to do research for this review that Behringer is no longer making this speaker dock, which was designed to be an affordable mini version of the 10,000-watt, 700 pound, US$30,000 monster that made a splash at CES 2012. The company gave away a bunch of these smaller speaker docks last autumn with a promotion with the one reseller for the product, Costco. Since the iNuke Boom Junior is no longer in production, I'm not going to write a review. Instead, we're going straight to the giveaway. Here are the features of the iNuke Boom Junior: Three-Way Active Design – Stunning concert-quality sound at home Integrated Subwoofer – Powerful, Deep Lows without Distortion Made for iPod, iPhone and iPad – Dock to play or charge your device Auxiliary Audio Input – Works with Android devices and other music players Wireless Remote Control – Controls audio and most iOS devices Master Volume and Bass Contour controls – Tailor the sound to your liking Video Output Connection – Play movies right from your Apple devices to TV Compatible with iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPhone 3GS and iPhone 3G, iPod Touch, iPod Nano, iPod Classic, iPad and any Android® phone or music player with 1/8" (3.5mm) headphone output I was able to test the iNuke Boom Junior with an iPhone 5 using an Apple Lightning to 30-pin adapter ($29, not included), and it worked fine. There's a small Lucite prop that holds up the iPhone 5, but I would not recommend trying a 4th-generation iPad on the adapter as it's just too unwieldy. An iPad mini worked just fine with the adapter. The sound on this thing is great! Seriously, the built-in subwoofer really does produce quite the boom if you're listening to music with a lot of bass. Surprisingly, though, it also handles the treble end quite well and was perfect for listening to the broad freqency and dynamic range of classical music. And with that short description of the iNuke Boom Junior, it's now time to give this unique device to one of our readers. Here are the rules for the giveaway: Open to legal US residents of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are 18 and older. To enter, fill out the form below completely and click or tap the Submit button. The entry must be made before May 5, 2013 11:59PM Eastern Daylight Time. You may enter only once. One winner will be selected and will receive a Behringer iNuke Boom Junior speaker dock valued at $179.95. Click Here for complete Official Rules. Loading...
Six cool upgrades for an old iPod
If you have an old iPod kicking around, TechHive has some ideas that'll help you breathe some new life into these vintage devices. Each upgrade mentioned in the post are warranty-voiders, but that doesn't matter anymore because the devices are so old. The lists of mods include changing the backlit LED, swapping out the drive and installing the Rockbox firmware. You can check out the full list on TechHive's website. If you have some mods of your own, please share them in the comments.
Dude recreates first-gen iPod in-browser, won't put 1,000 songs in your pocket
Here's a bit of web fun to liven up your weekend: a digital artist by the name of Pritesh Desai has recreated a fully functional first-generation iPod that you can play directly in your browser. In remembrance of Steve Jobs, Desai built the faux iPod using HTML5, CSS3, and a touch of jQuery. You can drag the click wheel around just like with the real deal, change the volume, hit play / pause and even skip tracks. Especially nice is the addition of Extras like the Clock and the Calendar. Unfortunately, you won't be able to play any of your own tunes, but Desai had compiled a list of Creative Commons songs, so you can see how the player works. The next step is for someone to fill this up with hits of the early aughts ("Last Nite" by The Strokes, perhaps?) so you can truly travel back in time to the heydays of Windows XP and the Enron scandal.
Apple EarPods review: A $29 revolution in earbuds or another set for the recycling bin?
Whether you think they're infamous or merely a signature piece of Apple design, there's no doubt most of us have been exposed the company's iconic white earbuds. Along with the latest batch of iPods and the iPhone 5, Apple announced the replacement for those dreaded earphones, a pair of 'buds called the EarPods. Given that these are bundled with new iDevices (also sold as a standalone for $29), it's hard not to think that the folks at Cupertino are drinking some sort of spiked Kool-Aid, claiming these rival headphones that cost hundreds more. While reviewing the likes of the iPhone 5, we also gave the EarPods a listen to find out whether or not they're just an over-engineered set of 'buds. You'll find our detailed verdict after the break.
iPod classic lives to play another day
The more things change, the more they stay the same -- for our old pal the iPod Classic, at least. Sure Apple went and revamped the rest of its music playing brethren, but the HDD stalwart is, as its name implies, staying true to its roots. Death rumors aside, the high-capacity player is sitting pretty over in Apple's online store. Those who need a shot of 160GB nostalgia can still pick one up for $250.
iPod owners notified of RealNetworks-related lawsuit's class action status, given chance to cash in (updated: not Real)
Remember the 2005 lawsuit over Apple's effort to keep RealNetworks' Harmony DRM off of the iPod, calling the countermeasures an abuse that locked customers into Apple's FairPlay copy protection and the iTunes Store? You're forgiven if you don't -- the complaint was filed in 2005. Even with iTunes having gone primarily DRM-free over three years ago, though, owners of iPods bought between September 12th, 2006 and March 31st, 2009 are just now getting notices that they qualify for a slice of any damages if they register and Rhapsody's former owner the class action group wins in court. Of course, there's no guarantee that RealNetworks former Rhapsody users will win and get you music money to feed your iPod, iPod classic, iPod nano or iPod touch, but unless you're planning to sue Apple yourself, there's no penalty for a legitimate claim. Update: RealNetworks has chipped in to let us know that it's "not involved in any way" with the lawsuit, which is actually an independent complaint centered around the Rhapsody users themselves. RealNetworks hasn't embroiled itself in a legal fight with Apple to date.
IRL: Nikon D3S, iPod 4G and Klipsch's Image One headphones
Welcome to IRL, an ongoing feature where we talk about the gadgets, apps and toys we're using in real life and take a second look at products that already got the formal review treatment. We almost don't want to talk about our tablets and phones this week, just because one or two show-stoppers here and there have made pretty much everything we own seem wholly inadequate. So we'll tell you about the stuff we won't be trading in anytime soon. For James, that means a good pair of over-ear headphones, for Darren it's a $6,000 camera and for Daniel it's a 40GB iPod with "Dan Cooper is awesome" engraved on the back (19 year-olds, right?). No complaints this time: just a trio of Engadget editors sounding off on what's been worth it.
