IPod Classic 2010

Question

Hi all. I thought I'd start a discussion on what people would like to see in the 2010 Classic refresh.
Please limit this discussion to Classics. There are othr forums relating to Touch and Nano.
What I want in 2010 Classic.
1. 250-360 GB HDD (I know Toshiba makes these in 1.8" Why is Apple so hesitent?).
2. All Glass cover.
3. Operating System refresh with the ability to click on "Repeat" when listening to a song....not having to go all the way back to main menu to get to click that option while I am in the middle of a song..very annoying the way it is now, to say the least.
THIS IS IT.
I dont care about WiFi, BlueTooth, TouchScreen...Touch as the market for folks who love those items. I am a Music Junkie with a **** for capacity...so keep the Classic Simple, make it look nice, keep the click wheel, and give it more space! :)))))

Answer 1

For those trying to decide whether to buy an iPod Classic now before they're gone or to hold out (even longer...) for a possible upgrade:
Steve Jobs' statement in his keynote address that the entire iPod line has been refreshed could be interpreted to mean either that the Classic is no longer really a part of the iPod line, and so will be left to wither and die, or possibly that an upgrade is in the works but wasn't ready by press time.
Apple has been known to quietly upgrade the Classic between media events, as when the 120G Classic went to 160G when the Toshiba 160G drive became available in Dec. 2009 (although, if I haven't mixed up the timing, that is also when they discontinued the thicker 240G Classic).
But Toshiba has not come out with a larger 1.8 inch hard drive, and Samsung, the other remaining hard drive manufacturer, hasn't stepped up either. So the only option would be for Apple to use the existing 320G dual-platter Toshiba drive rather than the 160G single-platter drive that the Classic uses now. But the dual-platter drive is 8 mm thick rather than 5 mm thick like the 160G single-platter drive. See
http://www.desinformado.com/2009/11/toshiba-launched-the-320gb-mkxx33gsg-and-mk1 235gsl-1-8-inch-hard-drives/
http://sdd.toshiba.com/main.aspx?Path=StorageSolutions/PCNotebookHardDrives/MK12 35GSL/MK1235GSLSpecifications
http://sdd.toshiba.com/main.aspx?Path=StorageSolutions/PCNotebookHardDrives/MKxx 33GSGSeries/MKxx33GSGSpecifications
. Therefore, like the discontinued 240G Classic, a 320G Classic would have to be thicker and heavier than the 160G.
Personally I would prefer a thicker and heavier 320G dual-platter Classic. (If size and weight is that important to you then get a Nano or a Touch. I use the Classic in the house and carry an iPhone 3GS in my pocket.) But Apple has already tried and dropped that approach, and September 1 would have been the time to go back to it if they wanted to. So we probably won't see a higher capacity Classic until and unless Toshiba comes out with a larger, presumably 240G, single-platter drive. That is conceivable, but the 160G/320G drives have only been out for less than a year, and some have also suggested that they didn't sell that well and the evolution of 1.8 inch hard drives has hit its economic limit, so I'm not holding my breath. A Classic capacity upgrade any time soon therefore seems unlikely.
As a result the common wisdom appears right that Apple is likely to just ignore the Classic and to discontinue it once the Touch reaches 120G or so in capacity (which might take another year or two). This would be a shame since the scroll wheel is simply a better interface for a dedicated music player, but it seems to be where they are going especially in light of the touchscreen Nano. So much for really loving music. Anyway it seems to me that you might as well buy the Classic now while they still make it because it's not likely to get any better.
Another (faint) possibility would be for Apple to reposition the Classic as the iPod Professional. See
http://forums.appleinsider.com/showpost.php?s=29fa2199a5fc8fe65eb08a9c88fd76de&p =1706250&postcount=35
. This would allow them to make it thicker, add optical audio output and other upgrades, and worry less about holding down the price because the branding would aim for professionals and audiophiles rather than the mass market. (And meanwhile, having turned the Nano into a touchscreen Shuffle, maybe Apple could bring back the iPod Mini as a consumer scroll-wheel player for those who don't want to have to keep looking down to operate the device.) But I'm just dreaming.