iPod fans have been waiting with bated breath for Apple’s fall media event to be announced, especially with the spotlight now shining brightly on a new iPhone. Much to an iPod lover’s chagrin, Apple’s invitations on Tuesday say everything: “Let’s talk iPhone.” Could one or more of the iPod line soon go swimming with the fishes?

TUAW is reporting that the “product transition” Apple referred to on its last quarterly earnings call may take place within the iPod lineup, with the iPod shuffle and iPod classic eyed as the most likely candidates for extinction. According to a tip the website claims to have been sitting on “until things came into greater focus,” now might be a good time to pick one of those iPods up.

“Obviously we can't divulge our source, but it is NOT an analyst,” the website reveals. “Most of us listen to analyst predictions with the proverbial grain of salt (or bag of salt). We feel pretty confident that Apple will soon discontinue the shuffle and classic, and we see few changes coming for the iPod touch -- unless you're super excited about it being available in white. The nano will then become Apple's lowest-end iPod (we've heard nothing about a price drop, however) and the iPod touch will remain a premium iPod with its current form factor intact.”

The logic makes sense -- the iPod shuffle and classic don’t have touchscreens, and the classic in particular is a holdover from a bygone era that ironically celebrates its 10th anniversary this year (that being the hard drive-based original iPod). We’ve recently predicted that the iPod shuffle could easily be rolled into the iPod nano with almost no one noticing, although personally, we’ll shed a tear or three if the iPod classic gets rubbed out.

Apple’s media event will be held Tuesday, October 4 at 10am PST in Cupertino, so iPod lovers will have to hold their breath and hope for the best before then. Godspeed, ladies and gents…

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