Written by Peter Murphy on Thursday, March 12, 2009

Honey I Shrunk the Kids, New iPod Shuffle…


Apple have just announced a third generation Shuffle, that’s smaller, that has a larger memory capacity, and less moving parts than ever before, with some intriguing new features. The scariest thing here is that this little device will talk to you, hopefully though it’s not a little HAL from “2001 a Space Odyssey”, I can’t do that Dave!

ShuffleShuffle_270x253

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

The biggest innovation for the new Shuffle seems to be that the controls are actually on the native headphones, no click wheel, D-pad on the device itself. Hopefully the included ones are robust enough to handle the every day rigours of your shuffling!

Apple shrinks its iPod Shuffle | Apple – CNET News

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More in iPhone/iPod Touch | 6 Comments


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6 Comments

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Dsgoldring
Mar 12, 2009

The controls in the headphone cable is ridiculous and stupid. I never use the headphones that come with any of my devices. And the ones apple includes with the iphone are just as crappy as any of the others. Complete garbage.


pedah
Mar 12, 2009

Depending on third party hardware manufacturers to compliment a device????
But it may create jobs, Doubtful
;)


brandonsteili
Mar 12, 2009

One word. FAIL.

I'll never buy one (and I own what like 5 or 6 iPods now) because of this absolutely ridiculous decision to put the controls onto the headphone cables. The idea worked with the iPhone because there were other controls and I didn't have to be tied to their headphones. The device needs controls on it. It doesn't need a screen, it doesn't need all kinds of bells and whistles, but it needs integrated controls.

Stupid, Stupid, Stupid decision.


Dsgoldring
Mar 12, 2009

I completely agree, Brandon. Headphones are a peripheral. They should not control the device. For one thing, iPod headphones, like most included headphones suck. If I can't use my Ultimate Ears with it, then I am not biting. Plus, what happens if you lose these headphones? now you have to shell out how much to replace the crappy OEM headphones?? This is a stupid decision. Just terrible.

Doug


James
Mar 13, 2009

Agree too, total garbage. The Apple headphones are shocking. With both of my iPods, they were thrown out with the packaging. They're not particularly durable, and new ones sell for a ridiculous price. 30US, ~50AUD.

At the same time… it's clever. Most people buying them will be taken by the design, voice overs, and the novelty of controls on the headphone cable. More replacement headphones, more profit.

We're definitely not the target market!


Thomas
Mar 14, 2009

I'd be just fine with it if they would include an adapter so that you could use other earphones. If they are going to gimp the standalone player, then they need to include the adapter to use other earphones or just make their default earphones much, much better.

That said, I think it's a really cool little device. It actually makes me almost want one. It's a clip and forget kind of player, and it makes way more sense to use in-line controls for something you'd use for running or for other sports.

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