What Future for the iPod Classic ?

If there is ever a product that has been eclipsed by Apple, the iPod classic would be prime candidate.

With the arrival of the iPhone and of the iPod touch, it quickly passed to product with the status of a high capacity walkman intended for those who do not favour the touch interface.
And it is true that this device has no place in the new strategy of Apple. It has l' immense defect not to support the iPhone OS and thus not to be able to make its owner a customer for the AppStore. Last year we asked ourselves what would happen, and in the final analysis it remained in the catalogue as a single model, 120 GB proving that the race with the capacity has it also an end, all at least for use as a walkman for music and video in a small package.
For the 'back-to-school' season Apple will renew its iPods and we ask for ourselves again what will happen to the iPod classic. The things have become even more complicated with the arrival (well almost) of an iPod touch of 64 GB (they have always been offered in the double of the capacity of the iPhone). Apple will have the choice between still lowering its price and keeping it for one year more in its catalogue, or to force it into retirment. We would not be surprised that this second solution is adopted, especially given that  a shortage of 1.8" disks is foreseen. These products have been badly liked for a long time and intended primarily for the iPod, and have since found a second youth in the ultra portables (including the Macbook Air). But in same time, the arrived of the SSD convinced certain players in this market that it was going soon to disappear; only Toshiba still produces them en masse, but not enough, so there is likely to be a price hike.

This icing on the cake could convince Apple to reserve a place with the museum for it.