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Apple is reportedly thinking about discontinuing its iPod Classic and iPod Shuffle models. Though these rumors have not been confirmed, many experts are speculating that the end could likely be near for the classic model and its smaller counterpart, as it has not changed much since the iPod first debuted ten years ago.
iPod Prevalence
In Ask Your Target Market’s latest survey, 35.8% of respondents said they currently own an iPod. 11.3% own a different kind of MP3 player, and 53% do not own one at all. Of those who own iPods, the Classic is one of the most popular models with 34.3%, but not quite as popular as the newer Touch with 40.6%. The smaller Nano has 32.2% and the Shuffle has 21%.
Don’t Mess with a Classic?
Out of all the respondents, even those who don’t currently own an iPod, 22.8% have owned an iPod Classic at one time or another. And 14.8% have owned an iPod Shuffle. Though the Classic has enjoyed a lot of prevalence and success, is its past popularity just another sign that it is on its way out? Or could the device get a reboot that would entice more customers to give it another chance?
In the Market
It seems as though the Classic’s newer counterpart, the iPod Touch is enjoying more success lately. 41.5% of overall respondents said that if they were in the market for a new iPod today, they would be most likely to consider a Touch, and only 9% said they would be most likely to consider a classic. 8.8% said they would likely consider a Nano and 8.3% said they would consider a Shuffle.This all might be moot though, as only 16.3% of respondents said they expect to be in the market for a new iPod sometime within the next year. Another 25.5% said it’s a possibility, but 58.3% said they don’t expect to be in the iPod market anytime soon. By that time, there may very well be an all-new line of iPods to choose from. Will the iPod Classic continue its run as part of this lineup, or will it just be remembered as the one that started it all?Photo Credit: iPod classic from Flickr
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