Cecily

"(W)e should all respect the iPod, and continue to enjoy it. After so many years we are at risk of taking it for granted, and we shouldn't. But we should also recognize the iPod for what it is, a stepping stone in the evolution of Apple as a company. The iPod started it all, and something tells me the iPhone is the first of many iterations of portable devices that we are going to see coming out of Apple." - Cecily via Bookmarklet

The iPod Touch is not half bad. - Louis Gray

the second the iPhone is offered WITHOUT DATA PLAN, the iPod will begin to not matter - Kevin Sablan

I chose the ipod nano over the touch or iphone for portability. I can watch my vidcasts and tv shows privately on the way to work on public transportation. I think it's the way to go really. As America moves from everything big to everything small and economical, mp3/mp4 players will play a part. I can't wait for IPTV integration on mobile devices.... - Anthony Farrior

Its a mixture of market saturation (how many of your friends DON'T have an iPod) and the natural evolution of the product. For those who don't want an iPhone or a touch, a classic for them and a Nano for the kids is still the way to go. - Adam Helweh

iPod = irrelevant with the advent of the iPhone. - Thomas Hawk

I replaced my iPod with an iPhone after my iPod was stolen - LPH™

I have no desire for an iPhone, but I'd kinda like to have an iPod. For now, I stick with my Sandisk Sansa. - Bradley McSpinn

Thomas - what about people on Verizon or Sprint? Or those (like me) who have way more data than a 16GB iPhone can hold? My 80GB iPod classic is even almost full ;) - Andru Edwards

Did it matter before? I've happily lived without one, there are better and cheaper alternatives on out. - Kol Tregaskes

completely agree! said as much at the bottom of my post this morning. :) http://is.gd/10Ca - felix

Just to throw another wrinkle into this, I'm considering buying a Wolverine ESP media player after seeing it in Make: magazine. It's nowhere near as elegant as an Apple product, but the idea of a 250GB drive in my pocket appeals to my inner geek. - ha3rvey

ipod software matters - Chris Harris

I think respect is the wrong word really. Anyway, I don't have an iPod. I got myself a little 1GB sansa m240 a little while back, and it's just fine for playing mp3s, my audible books, and listening to FM radio occasionally. The thing I wouldn't mind is an Archos, with a decent size screen, multi format capability, and wi-fi. - Ian May

Not until the iPhone reaches storage parity with iPod classic. I still need to decide what to take with me on an iPhone. - Derek Dysart

the ipod will matter until either (a) an unlocked iphone becomes available and affordable (b) non-at&t phones get more iphone-ish features and bigger hard drives/sd cards. i personally think nokia is nicely positioned to make a move here. many of nokia's phones go toe-to-toe with the iphone WRT features... but with usability, not so much. - tiffany

Once the iPhone has 32GB of storage, all iPods will just be gateway drugs to an iPhone. - Jason Kaneshiro

Try to remember that 48% of the U.S. population is still on dialup, and not by choice. There is one cell phone provider around these parts that almost covers the county decently, almost. That's the way it is many of us still. The iPhone is a yeah, whatever item for alot of people. - Michael W. May via twhirl

I actually like that I have less space on my iPod Touch. It forces me to think about setting particular moods for the day/week. - Cecily

the iPod as we know it is dead. why do you think Apple affixed the label 'classic' to it? Once the Touch reaches 64GB I can see it being phased out. Though how they handle the Nano is interesting. - Jamie

I have an ipod touch and an ipod classic. In recent weeks, my classic, even with it's 80 gigs of space, has never left it's dock. - Jason Toney