Rumor has it the days of hard disk-based iPods like the Classic may be numbered. If true, it'll be the end of an era and a blow to those who prefer (or require) storage capacities north of 100 gigabytes.

Sure, I've got an iPhone—you have to when you’re the editor of an iPhone site—but when it comes to iPods, I'm more of an iPod Classic kind of guy—the type who still finds the drop to a max of 120GB from 160GB hard to swallow. Too bad these devices, with their click wheels (at times preferable to multi-touch, particularly for one-handed navigation) and oodles of hard disk storage, may be on the endangered list.

There's been much conjecture of late that Apple may decide to kill the iPod Classic altogether, as the iPhone and iPod touch, with their considerably greater functionality (the ability to run software bought through the App Store, in particular), continue to cannibalize Classic sales.

For example, orders for 1.8-inch Samsung and Toshiba hard drives, the kind that go into an iPod Classic, are supposedly not what they should be if a new model were in the works. While 250GB, the size of Samsung's latest miniature drives, would be nice boost in capacity for the iPod Classic, I wouldn’t bet on seeing it happen, unfortunately.

As I mentioned earlier, the trajectory for Apple’s hard disk iPods has been down, not up. In fact, at the time Apple killed off the 160GB last fall, I had been hoping they'd release a 320GB model. Instead, what I got was 40GB less storage.

Flash memory–only devices appear to be the direction Apple is going. So, rumor has it Apple may release a 64GB iPod touch this fall. That’s double the capacity of today’s 32GB model.

I don't know about you but 64GB is still nowhere near enough storage for me.

Then again, my dual-platter 160 gig iPod Classic broke down more often than I would have liked; hence Apple’s likely reason for releasing only a single platter (and more stable) 120 gig and not a 240 gig dual-platter iPod Classic to replace the previous generation iPods.

I learned the hard way that dual-platter drive iPods are not worth the extra storage they enable.

You see, after several visits to an Apple Store due to one malfunctioning 160GB iPod Classic hard disk drive after another, the Genius threw up his hands in defeat and bumped me over to a 120GB model. There have been no problems with the disk drive of that iPod Classic, none at all during the several months since it replaced the larger-capacity model.

With hard disk iPods in danger of extinction (at best stagnation), let’s hope flash memory prices drop quickly to the point where hard disk-like capacities can finally make their way into the iPhone, iPod touch and iPod nano . Folks like me would like to see that happen sooner than later, of course.

Granted, whatever happens, music fans like me, can carry around more music, more easily than ever before thanks to portable music players like the iPod, be they flash or hard disk based. It is certainly far easier than back in the day when I lugged a backpack full of CDs everywhere.

It has also resulted in far fewer visits to the chiropractor.

It's been apparent for a while that the days disk-based iPod would not last forever. What I'm unhappy to see is that it may end before Apple can fully replace the storage capacities of these devices with flash memory at comparable monetary and performance (in the way of capacity) levels for itself and customers.

We may be a minority, but folks like me who require lots of storage for video, music and other content will always be there as a market segment Apple can count on. So, Apple, how about developing a slightly thicker iPod touch with  250 gigs of hard disk-based storage?

While that may seem farfetched (and is unlikley), it is probably likelier to happen than the release of more new click wheel-style iPods, especially with hard drives, in the mode of the Classic and the nano. The numbers for Apple simply don't compute.

Last week, Apple reported its earnings for last quarter. iPhone sales increased by 626 percent from the same period last year. iPod touch sales grew at 130 percent year-over-year. Meanwhile, iPod sales overall, which include the iPod Classic, iPod nano and the iPod touch, actually declined by 7 percent from the same quarter in 2008.

Although Apple didn't pull out the iPod nano or iPod Classic numbers, those sales must have been pretty dismal, even though Apple still commands more than 70 percent of the standalone MP3 player market worldwide. With the popularity of smartphones like the iPhone growing leaps and bounds, this market will surely keep shrinking very quickly.

After all, most people prefer to carry around devices like the iPhone and iPod touch that can do more than just play music. When the overall standalone MP3 market gets small enough, don’t be surprised if Apple drops out altogether to concentrate on its multifunctional mobiles.