Comments on: Report: iPod Shuffle accessories to get Apple 'tax'

Apple is reportedly planning to require third-party headphones--and headphone adapters--for the new device to include an Apple-licensed authentication chip that will jack up the prices.

[gmhendo]

Bend over forwards, here comes Apple again! Haven't they got enogh trade restrictions already? When is the world gonna say "Enough!"

[shingshadow]

see everyone's like the sound quality sucks with earbuds, but i think it's a smart move, b/c what other set of headphones has inline with good quality? Why the new $79 apple ones

[ikramerica--2008]

What about the "Sony" tax? My Sony phone required an adapter to use anything but the standard cheap headphones that came with it as a handsfree. They had two options, one with controls for music and volume control and one with just the mic, answer/hangup button and mini jack. Both were EXPENSIVE, far more than any Apple dongles are.

[Miloheat3]

Why in the wold would you rather go with a "locked down" iPod shuffle for $79
and have to be locked in with a pair of cheap-o earbuds, for only 4gb??????
Fashion icon? is that what it is? For $79, go get a 4gb Sansa Fuze, which actually,
has a screen, memory expandability, and excellent sound quality. Now tell me, which one
is more bang for your buck? Personally, I would go w/ the Sansa Fuze, cause I think, and
don't go to whatever in new from apple, or any company..cough cough..apple fanbois...

[asong4u1975]

Apples headphones and earbuds suck. They are the weak link in the system. Why don't they offer different sizes and styles like their competitors? Lazy? Just want the "tax revenue." The latest IPod buds are HUGE. Who has ears that big?

[3rdalbum]

Apple has been screwing retailers for years - where I live, Apple's RRP is only about 5% more than the retailer's cost including G.S.T. That's why retailers stock up with massive numbers of accessories, as that's where they can make some money. If you don't buy a skin, FM transmitter or some other accessory, the store might as well have not sold you an iPod. And then, Apple changes the physical dimensions of the iPod so the retailer is left with a bunch of "made-to-fit" accessories that don't fit the new designs.

Now Apple is going to screw the manufacturers of the accessories by forcing them to license the Apple headphone controls.

You know, that's the real reason why other brands of MP3 players are sometimes more expensive - they have a more realistic RRP so the retailer can get some sort of profit margin. When I was in the market for an MP3 player, and in the electronics industry, the cost price for an iPod Nano 8gb was the same as for a Sony Walkman 8gb. Naturally, I chose the better MP3 player - you know, the one that doesn't get scratched, that has the same battery life but much better sound quality, that's smart enough to generate its own music database rather than require extra buggy software on the PC...

[trouble001]

Y A W N .....

[Bozco11]

Obviously Apple does it because the idiot masses out there will buy it anyway, just because it's an "ipod". Hopefully people wise up to this BS though it's not likely. Hell, the stock earphones don't even fit in my ear to the point that I can't even wear them for a second. F giving them money to wear headphones of my choice.

[FadingRose550]

Saying that someone who wants good sound quality shouldn't buy the shuffle could be true - but you can't even control the volume?! That's like the most basic feature of a music player (even the cheap-o radios that they give away for free as promo items have volume control!).

[tarapola]

I asked for an Ipod for fathers day. I got it tonight. I?m totally disappointed that I can?t plug it directly into my cassette adaptor in my car. I can plug it in but have no control moving from song to song. The other 3 Ipods that are in this house work that way but this one doesn?t. Nice that I can?t find a cable that will accommodate me. Nice that I can?t return it once it?s open. Very deceptive marketing.

[Annyza]

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[Annyza]

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