The iPod in 2009: Still Cool, or Commodity?

I can remember the first time I saw a stranger with an iPod. I was jogging with my own iPod at a local park, when I saw the tell-tale white earbuds headed towards me in the ears of a lovely young lady. She smiled, and I smiled, and no it wasn't my exuberant charm, or that she was exceedingly pretty (she was lovely, but not that lovely). No, it was the recognition that we were part of a club. We were part of a small group of people who "got it."

Here we are, 2009, and those iPod headphones have become so ubiquitous that it's numbing. Seeing someone with an iPod is like going to a friend's house and seeing they have cable: you have something in common, but there's nothing intrinsically cool about it. Now if they had cable in the early 80's, well that's a different story.

When I had that iPod, I was the only person in my family (immediate or extended) to own any Apple product. Today, I've troubleshooted iPods for 10 year-old nephews, and Uncles and Aunts of a certain age, as well as my parents. When you buy a cool new gadget, and then see grandma on the treadmill with it, it takes something away.

So what do you think? Is there any "cool" left in the iPod? Is there anything Apple can do to keep it "hip" in addition to ahead of the competitors? Does it even matter if it's "cool"? Can you have anything selling millions of units for years on end, and still feel like you're part of a "club" for having it?