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iPod Classic. Born 2001. Died 2014. R.I.P.

 
Thinkstock
Thinkstock
Published Sept. 11, 2014

After Apple made a series of iPhone and Apple Watch announcements on Tuesday, people started noticing that one product was missing from the company's website: the iPod Classic.

One of the last vestiges of the pre-touchscreen iPod age, the iPod Classic was once just the iPod. When it debuted in October 2001, it had a 5 GB hard drive to store 1,000 songs and a click wheel that actually spun. It transformed over the years, peaking at 160 GB and gaining the "Classic" suffix. And now it's gone.

Rumors of the Classic's demise began in 2011, but the unobtrusive device held on for years. And with the debut of the Apple Watch, its death seems almost poignant. Just as the Apple Watch faces a mixture of praise and criticism, the iPod was once dogged by skeptics. As you mourn the iPod Classic today, let these comments from the lunch of the Classic in 2001 lighten your heavy heart:

Great just what the world needs, another freaking MP3 player. Go Steve! Where's the Newton?!

gee! an mp3 player with a HD! how original! kinda reminds me of a JUKEBOX i once knew..

All that hype for an MP3 player? Break-thru digital device? The Reality Distiortion Field™ is starting to warp Steve's mind if he thinks for one second that this thing is gonna take off.

Mmmm. APPL (stock) is already down $1.00 ... Looks like the markets aren't looking too favorably on Apple's new forays into the digital device market.

Am I the only one who sees a fatal flaw with this "consumer" device... IT'S MAC-ONLY!