The end of iPod?

Posted June 20, 2008 at 09:56 AM by JG Mason

Section: Audio, Portable Audio, Video, Portable Video

Let’s clarify the title to “the end of the high-end iPod”.  That’s better and far more accurate.  There will always be room for a Nano and Shuffle in busy lives that need the gadget to do just one thing: play music.

But as you move up the price scale and feature spec, the original intent becomes cloudy.  Take the iPod touch as an example.  Start talking with their owners and listening to music is somewhere in the 2-3 priority ranking (myself included).  Web browsing and WiFi email around my house or on the go get top billing.  Are we just a bunch of PDA groupie leftovers?  Perhaps.

News is going around that the current iPod touch shortage means a new model is on the horizon.  My question is this, “what could you possibly add to the device to make it more iPhone like?  Less iPhone like?  Able to stand better on its own two feet?“  Surely these questions have been asked by someone at Apple and probably answered.  But I am not sure it is going to work.

Right now, the touch doesn’t get the subsidies like the iPhone and therefore can’t really compete on price.  Will we see an EV-DO card inside allowing all the time connectivity?  GPS?  Bluetooth?  Anything to make Nano owners say, “yeah, I need to upgrade,“?  I am not sure just upping the memory will help on this effort.

I am not so sure.  What makes the iPhone so successful is it’s clear connection as the top of the iPod line.  It is a logical jump from iPod to iPhone.  And that is just what Apple wants, right?  But what will happen to the iPod line if the touch stays more expensive than the iPhone?  Kind of an odd point.  Will it spur a tablet line that I’ve been jonesing for?

Does Apple need a high end iPod?  Maybe.  I sure love mine but admittedly I am a freak.  How small is this high-end market filled with folks that can’t for one reason or another get an iPhone? 

Sure I see the classic withering but really, is the touch needed in today’s cheap iPhone world?  What say you?  Let us know in the comments.