So I have a 2nd gen. Ipod touch. No apps work at all because I need IOS 4.3 I guess. I click on an app and it doesn't even try to open. And if I delete it and try to re-download it, it says I need to upgrade. Is there anyway to upgrade my old Ipod?

No

Becasue the second gen ipod touch only support up to 4.2.1

It is completely normal.

ALL software driven devices/computers/tvs/dvd players/etc become unable to run the latest software at some point.

As the second gen ipod is three generations old, it is not unusual at all that it would no longer be able to handle the latest software.

Perhaps this may help; https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4470617?answerId=20147306022#20147306022

The idea that Apple made a corporate decision to simply eliminate all older iTouch devices from existence baffles me.

Why would I want to invest in any apple product knowing full well that in a few years I will simply have to throw it away. I don't have a lot of money to invest in things like this. Do you? There is no reason I shouldn't expect to be able to acquire older versions of apps for my older iTouch (read 3G IOS 4.2.1.)

I cannot get ANY ibook reader, no VNC. no mapping software. very few games (not that I care much about games.)

There must be millions of the older iTouch devices out there that are good for nothing but a landfill somewhere.

Someone said all older computing equipment eventually goes away. Not so. I have some older computers that can still run WIN98, (even WIN3.11 if I want.) I can still download old applications for those old OS's. There is no NEED to throw them away. I may WANT to, but I am not FORCED to.

While I am sure the older Android and WIN devices will eventually become less popular, they will ALWAYS be useful. I will always be able to get old apps for them. I can still get old apps for win3.11.

The older Apple device are now actually useless. That is the diffference, and it is a big one. Apple is FORCING us to upgrade. As someone pointed out, it's corporate greed.

So, yes, this and all other posts on this subject should be turned into an Apple bashing, Android vs IOS debate until we eventually get Apples attention.

Really, the only way to get Apples attention on this matter is to switch away from them and hit them in thier greed (which is exactly what I am going to do.)

They came out with the first GUI years ago and made the corporate decision to not keep in touch with thier customers. Now look at them. 98% of all desktops and laptops are running competitors OS's.

The same thing is going to happen with the IOS, but much faster this time. It won't take long for people to figure out they simply have to replace there perfectly good hardware because Apple got greedy.

But, alas, It seems Apple is happy with 2% of the marketplace. Too bad. They made a good product. I guess I MUST put mine in the can under my sink.

Mark.

i agree on both accounts, both the apple and the developers should be ashamed

You've made very valid points. I for one will not replace either the iPod Touch that is now virtually useless nor the iPhone 4 that will no doubt be heading down the same path to iOS obsolescence... with any APPLE product.

Planned obsolescence is purely about corporate greed. I choose to stop feeding the gluttonous monster.

You are seeing the power of the market here because there is not enough demand to support the old products. So they are being dropped by both Apple and the developers.

Allan

I personally find it rather anoying that apple has taken away my ability to use their product so that i'm "forced" to toss it to upgrade/buy a newer model, which will, in time (likely short time) become obsolete just the same as this did...apple should truly be ashamed of themselves...and from reading the aformentioned posts i see that i'm not the only customer that they will be losing...Android, here i come😁

Bye.

Thanks for your helpful comments, Allan. You must be so pleased with yourself and your modern toys.

Some real advice for the folks posting here would be to do as I've just done, or something similar, which is...

1. Go go to the app store through iTunes on your computer, not your device - much easier to navigate through the thousands of apps you don't want
2. Select the category of app you want from the drop-menu on the right - mine, for example was Games.
3. Scroll to the bottom of the screen where you can choose from a list of genres of your desired app - in my case, Kids - I have an iPod Touch 2nd Gen (iOS4.2.1) that I want to let my little girl play with so she doesn't break mummy and daddy's iPhones that she loves to mess with so much.
4. I then went to the 'all iPhone apps' list and selected Free apps - 2year olds are pretty fickle about what interests them so I don't plan to spend too much but you may want to check out paid for apps instead.
5. Having clicked on 'view all' I'm still looking at 77 pages of 13,700 apps but, here's the key, you can sort them by date. And the oldest tend to be the most likely to work with pre iOS4.3 devices. So I went to the last page and just stated looking. Every app tells you its system requirements. Tip - click the little i for a quick view so you don't have to keep navigating back to the last page.

There are LOADS of kids games that still work. Many aren't great and I can't tell you what's available in other categories but I imagine there's still plenty out there that will meet what you are looking for. I found a YouTube manager that works when I looked for that. I've already downloaded 20 or so decent little games for her to play just from looking through 3 pages of the 77.

Just to make it clear though, I too am sick of Apple's constant pressure to upgrade. I've been a Mac user since OS9 days and have never seen it reach the point it has now. They even now officially state (a recent development) that they do not support devices that are more than 5 years old as they consider them obsolete - their own words on this very site. Really???? I have no plans to upgrade my current Mac or iPods again.

Happy hunting for those apps.

Oh yes, your iPod Touch is clearly useless. It only browses the internet, plays music and videos, still can use thousands upon thousands of apps that support iOS 4.2.1... Complete and utter trash now. Good for only a paper weight, huh?

Just because the apps you WANT no longer support it, who should you be mad at? The developers of those apps are the ones who are dropping the support for the older devices, not Apple.

And as far as Apple being jerks for not supporting the old devices with new software? The mobile phone/tablet market is the most technologically competitive market. Less and less people are buying laptops and computers, but are opting to go with tablets instead, or even just a smart phone. Apple has to keep up with the competition by developing new hardware and making the new devices better and better to stay in the loop. The drawback is that with the new hardware, they need to develop software that takes advantage of that hardware to its full extent. It's not that Apple is choosing to alienate the owners of older devices, it's just that those devices aren't capable of handling the new software. All the new features that are released require more resources such as processing power and memory, in addition to completely new hardware. They've already dropped features for certain iOS versions (for example, iOS 4 on iPod Touch 2nd Gen. doesn't have multi-tasking) so that they can continue to provide the maximum amount of updates. Sure, they could continue to do this, but the iOS itself is becoming too much for that wee little iPod Touch to handle, and then you'd be mad because the new update made your iPod run slow.

Your iPod does EVERYTHING that was advertised to do when you bought it. It's not useless. Stop whining, and stop blaming the wrong group.

Before you go calling me an "Apple Fanboy," know that I'm posting this because I am a software developer and know what has to be done sometimes. I'm not defending Apple for the sake of it, I just don't think it's fair that so many people are blaming them for this issue when it's clearly not their fault.