My wife received her new iPod Classic today, and this isn’t like Apple’s Classics of old. At one time I had a Mac Classic II. It was a great little machine, but it wasn’t exactly a top of the line Mac. But if first impressions hold true, the iPod Classic is no slouch.

It is, as everyone knows, thinner than the iPod it replaces. The brushed metal finish looks good and isn’t as reflective as the surface of my black iPod. Whether the brushed metal is better than the white or black of the older models is a subjective judgment, but so far I can’t say I like either finish best.

The new interface is where the iPod classic really stands out. Cover Flow works pretty much as you’d expect it to, and there are little touches everywhere that make it easier and faster to get to the content you want. Title and Artist names appear together, so you don’t have to guess whether you put the Snoop Dogg or the Tori Amos version of “Gin and Juice” in a playlist. The split-screen preview feature provides a clever look inside before you commit to a click. If you can’t remember a song or photo album by name, visual cues are there to jog your memory.

The iPod touch and the iPhone price cut may be getting all the attention, but the iPod Classic looks like an excellent refinement of an already tried and true product.