Apple May Drop iPod Classic, shuffle

Apple’s iPod lineup may be set to lose two long-time members of its family: the iPod classic and the iPod shuffle. Anonymous sources claim Apple is ready to drop the two models from its music player lineup to focus on the iPod nano and iPod touch, according to TUAW.

iPod classic gone? Maybe.Losing the two iPod models would help Apple streamline its media player lineup with just touch-based devices, and all of its products would be running iOS, save for the iPod nano.

On the down side, Apple would be giving up the entry-level music player market by dropping the US$49 iPod shuffle — a market that the company may no longer have an interest in. Discontinuing the iPod classic, however, would mean the end of iPods with hard drives, and would leave the company without a high storage capacity music player since that model ships with a 160GB drive.

Apple is set to host a media event on October 4 where it plans to talk about the iPhone. There isn’t any word on whether or not there will be any iPod-related announcements to go along with the iPhone surprises.

Since there isn’t any way to confirm whether or not the anonymous sources are right, for now we’ll have to take this rumor with an appropriate dose of salt.