Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Amid ever-growing buzz about the iPhone and the iPad, sales of the once-dominant iPod have been on a downward slide for years, and analysts predict that next week, Apple will report second-quarter figures down 7.2 percent from the same period one year ago. Such numbers have the tech world brooding about the possibly imminent death of the iconic MP3 player. Is the end really near?
Prepare the burial plot: With smartphones usurping the role of MP3 players, "it's possible that Apple could lay an iPod, likely the old iPod Classic rather than the more popular iPod Touch, to rest at its upcoming September event," says Christina Bonnington at Wired. One indicator that iPods are fading: For the first time since the iPod Touch came on the market, it's not being offered as a back-to-school "free gift" with any Mac purchase. Instead, buyers get a $100 iTunes gift card.
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