14 DAY TRIAL // Without any warning, Apple has removed click-wheel iPod games from the iTunes Store, in what seems to mount as additional evidence that Cupertino is axing at least one iPod model this year.
Speculation abounds regarding the impending discontinuation of two iPod models, the iPod classic and the iPod shuffle, with the players’ sales continuing to decline with each quarter.
However, there are several reasons biggest Apple’s rumored plans to phase out these two particular models.
For instance, the company is moving away from hard-drives with each new product release. The iPod classic stores its data magnetically on hard disk platters. All other iPods use NAND Flash memory for storage.
And while the iPod shuffle is keeping pace with the times (as far as data storage goes), this music player has become irrelevant in the face of the iPod nano, which is basically an enhanced version of the shuffle, complete with a multi-touch display.
There was even talk of Apple nixing the iPod touch, though it is fair to assume this won’t happen just yet. The touch is Apple’s most popular iPod.
And more and more people are beginning to realize just how practical iPads are.
The tablet allows people not only to carry around their entire digital life (including their music library), it also lets them access the Internet in a compelling manner that goes far beyond the capabilities of the iPhone and the iPod touch.
All in all, there are quite a few reasons why Apple would do itself a favor by reducing the ‘clutter’ in its iOfferings.
Steve Jobs once famously advised Nike’s CEO, Mark Parker: “Nike makes some of the best products in the world. Products that you lust after. But you also make a lot of crap. Just get rid of the crappy stuff and focus on the good stuff.”
There is no reason not to expect the same mentality applied to the iPod lineup. Even with Steve Jobs no longer running the show, his blood will run through the company’s veins for years to come.