Apple Shrinks its iPod Shuffle

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The new iPod Shuffle is now smaller than a AA battery. Rumor has it that it will be the only music player that will come with a “choking hazard” warning. Okay, I made that part up but it would if there was somewhere to put the warning sticker. :D

The new device is smaller than a AA battery yet holds up to 1,000 songs, Apple said. The preshrunk Shuffle also adds a new VoiceOver feature that can recite song titles, artists, and playlist names, as well as provide status information, such as battery life. Speaking of which, Apple said the gadget's battery life clocks in at 10 hours.
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Thats insanely small, why are they going smaller? Who really has a need for such a tiny player? And does it have any buttons?
 
The navigation and volume controls are in a small protrusion on the right earphone cord.


So, if you want good headphones, too f'n bad.
 
Eragon Dragonslayer said:
Thats insanely small, why are they going smaller? Who really has a need for such a tiny player? And does it have any buttons?
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The buttons are on the right earbud cord. So it looks like you can't even use your own headphones with it.

Thanks Apple!
 
I have had both the first version and second revision of the Shuffle and liked both. My fav was the original design since you could just plug it directly into a USB port and no extra cables or docks needed.


I am not so sure about this new one. Seems a bit too small and I dislike the fact that you are screwed if you want to use different earphones. Unless you buy them from Apple. of course.


Thou I think the voiceover feature for playlists is cool. Would be nice if that was added to the order models via firmware update. But I can assume thats not going to happen...
 
Ok, that is seriously retarted, so i guess this shuffle is being marketed to the teens that prefer ibuds and mp3s! Thanks apple, for everything!
 
This pretty much sums up why I think this new Shuffle is even more crap:

Business Week said:
I have only one problem with this design, and it’s one that applies to any product that uses multi-modal buttons, that is, buttons that do more than one thing depending on the context. The center button on this remote has an awful lot to do. A single tap starts the music, or stops it if it is already playing. A double tap skips to the next track and a triple tap moves back to the previous track. If you hold the button down, you get the track announcement. And if you hold it down even longer until you hear a beep, it will announce the playlists on the shuffle. You then press it again to select a playlist. Use it for a while, and you’ll get used to it, but this sort of multi-modalism always makes for a confusing user experience.
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Link:http://www.businessweek.com/the_thread/techbeat/archives/2009/03/the_new_ipod_sh.html

3 clicks to skip a song? Uhh... that won't get old at all.
 
Horrible design. Saw some comment on Engadget: "This is what happens when Jobs isn't around..."

lol
 
The iPhone/Touch work the same with the single click to pause/double click to skip song/triple click to go back one track. Any headphones with a mic/clicker on them work in this way, so you can get replacements as long as they work like a set of headphones that can be used with a phone.
 
Steve said:
only music player that will come with a “choking hazard” warning.
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Considering some of the audio that comes out today that's called "music", anything that can play it should be considered a choking hazard...
 
I must applaud Apple's wicked product design. While their product is quite pricey, and I'm not certain about their software with lock-ins. They certainly put their back into the design of things. Functionality and form combined.
 
I can see the new marketing campaign:
"The new iPod Shuffle, so small you don't need an arm band, shaped just right so you can just shove it up your *sshole while jogging!"

Bleh.
 
I don't know, I like my 2G better. Sling it around my neck, clip it to the cord and wear it like a necklace when I cycle down the highway. Easy access to the buttons and can change to any buds.
 
ninjaturtle said:
I don't know, I like my 2G better. Sling it around my neck, clip it to the cord and wear it like a necklace when I cycle down the highway. Easy access to the buttons and can change to any buds.
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So this why my 2G 2gb is on back order.:mad:
Apple is discontinuing a 2GB $69 Shuffle introduced at last year's iPod event, but will continue to sell the older $49 1GB Shuffle,
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I actually thought that the clip one was the best design (most practical), could of worked on increasing its storage and added new features.
 
RangerXML said:
I actually thought that the clip one was the best design (most practical), could of worked on increasing its storage and added new features.
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My only complaint with my shuffle is the inability to lock out all the buttons. Other than that I love it. Damn thing is a tank. It's been lost, stepped on, dropped a thousand times, tossed against the wall by my kid on accident. Still plays perfectly.

Gonna have to find a 2g now before there all gone as a backup for when the battery in my 1g dies.
 
Let's c...first no screen & now stick nav button on their crappy earphone cord

Do yourself a favor & get a Sansa Clip. Superior than that crap in many ways...
 
RainHNg said:
Let's c...first no screen & now stick nav button on their crappy earphone cord

Do yourself a favor & get a Sansa Clip. Superior than that crap in many ways...
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Well there is a MP3 player for anyone from size to displays. I for one don't need a screen since I commute via bicycle on a busy highway where cars get mere inches to me going 50-60mph. As for the interface and controls on the buds I agree.

I MP3/4s I own:
-Shuffle 2G 1gb
-Sansa Fuze 2gb
-Creative Vision M 30gb (current swapping HD with 80gb).
 
For a company that prides itself on design and usability, Apple is really starting to completely neglect half of that equation... It's half the size of the previous shuffle, sure, but where the heck would you put this that the previous Shuffle wouldn't fit in?

Never mind the fact that the existing Shuffle was already overpriced and vastly overshadowed by other small players w/a lot more features and/or battery life for less money. If someone just wants to avoid carrying as much crap as they can they'll use their phone instead to play music, nearly any smartphone and most media phone these days are capable music players and you can easily pop cheap 4-8GB cards into 'em.

Alternative players like Creative's MuVo or Sandisk's equivalent can double as MP3 thumbdrives (the port's right on the player) and often have other upsides (radio tuner, mini-SD slot, or it uses a single AAA battery which is great if you're camping and that sorta thing) while being cheaper and still as small as a pack of gum. Nevermind the fact that they have a functioning screen and don't jam you up with the dedicated headphones like Apple...

Honestly, I've no earthly idea why the Shuffle has sold as well as it has in the past. I was never lured by most of the other iPods either, though I did recently get an iPod touch which I love despite a few bugs, but I could at 'least understand the combination of good usability, looks/design, and iTunes.
 
hPOD said:
The iPhone/Touch work the same with the single click to pause/double click to skip song/triple click to go back one track. Any headphones with a mic/clicker on them work in this way, so you can get replacements as long as they work like a set of headphones that can be used with a phone.
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If that's true you don't even need a specific set of headphones, you just need this Philips iPhone/iPod Mic Adapter, though it might make for more cabling than you'd like/need. I'm not sure it'll be compatible with all the extra commands on the Shuffle though, AFAIK the only commands you've got for playback on the iPhone/touch are single click for play/pause, double to skip, and triple to repeat... Doesn't sound like the same set of commands.

I actually have one of those adapters and I use it on my car, just to conserve battery though having a tactile button to press rather than having to look at the iPod touch's screen is a nice upside... I probably wouldn't even have looked for something like that if Apple gave me a setting for turning the screen off w/o auto-locking it (again, to conserve battery) but that's another story. :rolleyes:
 
Next step: iPod goes directly in your ear, similar to a Bluetooth headset.

:rolleyes:
 
Apple sure does a great job of removing features from a product, calling it revolutionary and making people have to buy accessories for their products just to return features that they used to have or have always wanted in the products in the first place. Give it a month and there'll be a "replacement extension cord" with the controls built in so you can plug in your normal headphones.

There was nothing new about this that would have prevented them from being able to put it into the guts of their existing shuffle, keeping you from needing a proprietary earbud to use controls... so this is basically a completely unnecessary revamp. I just find it funny that in adding a 'feature' to make it more accessible (for those who are blind, voice features, for example)... they made it more difficult for other people to use. Those who don't fit within the group of people who can wear the earbuds or use different types of listening devices on their players... In my case, I use a t-link induction coil to listen to my mp3s.

Apple. Selling you less for more.
 
Honestly, I've no earthly idea why the Shuffle has sold as well as it has in the past. I was never lured by most of the other iPods either, though I did recently get an iPod touch which I love despite a few bugs, but I could at 'least understand the combination of good usability, looks/design, and iTunes.
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I had a GEN 1 ipod, it died, I got a shuffle because it was cheap, and I needed something small for when I run.

I bought a zune this time around and am very impressed with it.
 
They can make it as small as they want, it still gets outclassed by the players it's trying to compete with....especially now that it's further crippled with new features.
 
ninjaturtle said:
Well there is a MP3 player for anyone from size to displays. I for one don't need a screen since I commute via bicycle on a busy highway where cars get mere inches to me going 50-60mph.
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You realize that riding a bike while wearing headphones is illegal, right? :eek:

Same with driving a car with headphones on.
 
I don't like it... what if you want to plug it into your car? Looks like you can't anymore unless someone makes a patch cord with the remote and a 3.5 mm female on the other end.
 
You realize that riding a bike while wearing headphones is illegal, right?
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So is not following Florida's 6' Over Law to help protect cyclist/me, but vehicles still whiz by.:(
 
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