Apple shrinks its iPod Shuffle
The slender, new iPod Shuffle stands tall behind the relatively boxy older version.
(Credit: Jonathan Skillings/CNET, from Apple video)Updated at 6:22 a.m. PDT with more details and new images, and 8:45 a.m. PDT with comments from Apple.
Apparently the tiny iPod Shuffle wasn't tiny enough. On Wednesday, Apple unveiled a 4GB Shuffle that's half the size of its predecessor.
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.
Priced at $79, it comes in silver or black. The aluminum body of the third-generation Shuffle stands 1.8 inches tall and is 0.3 inch thick. The navigation and volume controls are in a small protrusion on the right earphone cord.
With the new Shuffle, users can organize songs by multiple playlists. The VoiceOver feature can speak in 14 languages: English, Czech, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, and Turkish.
VoiceOver is Apple's term for the text-to-speech engine built into Mac OS X Leopard in order to let blind people use a Mac more easily. The "Alex" voice generated by that software is the one that Leopard users will hear, while Windows users and Mac OS X Tiger (10.4) users will hear a different voice, said Greg Joswiak, Apple's vice president of iPod and iPhone marketing.
The first time you sync one of the new iPod Shuffles with iTunes, Apple will install software on your Mac or PC that makes the voice feature possible. This isn't speech recognition; you can't speak into your iPod headphone and order up Bob Dylan's "Blood on the Tracks," but the voice feature is more useful than just reminding you of the name of that song you downloaded three years ago but had forgotten about until it randomly came up on your Shuffle.
Apple now supports playlist discovery with the new iPod Shuffle. A button in the center of the headphone controls, when held down for a few seconds, takes you into a playlist mode where the speech engine recites the names of your playlists in alphabetical order, allowing you to select a playlist by pushing the button again, Joswiak said.
The only controls on the device itself are the on/off switch and the shuffle/llnear switch, Joswiak said. Apple will ship its own in-ear headphones with the Shuffle, but third-parties will be able to make their own headphones that have the controls, and they'll also make adapters that will let you use the controls with existing headphones, he said.
Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster put out a research note Wednesday upgrading his expectations for Apple's earnings per share in fiscal 2009 based on his belief that the new Shuffles will generate more profit for Apple. The $79 price returns Apple to the price point used for the second-generation Shuffle, which was cut to $49 last year. Apple is discontinuing a 2GB $69 Shuffle introduced at last year's iPod event, but will continue to sell the older $49 1GB Shuffle, Joswiak said.
Don't mistake that new iPod Shuffle for a stick of gum.
(Credit: Jonathan Skillings/CNET, from Apple video)
Oh wait, it is an apple product! No wonder it is on their site first!
*facepalm*
on topic: Very nice, 4GB is the perfect size for songs
http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&productId=8198552921665791112
The funny part is old people still won't be able to figure that out.
wouldn't buy a music player without display
Remember that spoof?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5ENLm0JsQw
Next up from Apple, an iPod that fits in your ear.
They need to recess the phone jack so that the plug isn't just sticking out there, begging to be broken off. And I wouldn't really call it "smaller" than the previous generation.. I don't think the overall area is that different. The contol is a neat idea but why not put it on the body so we can use our existing headphones?
My primary issue would be the controls on the earphones. What if you wanted to use a different pair? If you're jogging and need to use some around-the-head set?
Also, the controls (or lack thereof) are really absolutely ridiculous.
A:Just buy a new iPod, because this one will also probably die in about a year also.(probably actually 2 years and a week just in case you get the extended warranty)
If you use other headphones you can't control the songs or the volume. It reminds me of a parody called the ipod useless.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVd91U0r1-w
http://golfism.wordpress.com/2009/02/23/will-it-wash-and-dry/
That's what my point. You can't use an audio cable to plug it in to your car stereo or any other piece of equipment for that matter because you wouldn't have anyway to control it. Unless Apple or somebody else puts out a cable with the control module on it.
Clearly ducttape didn't look at the other pictures, so what.
Not knowing an iPod released today doesn't have a clip is ignorance in your small geeky universe. For the rest of us is just a minor mistake.
The proceedure is no worse than having your ears pierced and our trusty brainiacs at the iPod store will be more than happy to make your appointment. You can be in and out in the time it takes to play just one song on your new iPod Embedded.
Yes we can tap into your thoughts to know exactly what you want played. Voice control is also optional. Crowded rooms may cause increased and unwanted shuffles.
Accessories embedded seperately and will require a seperate appointment. Upgrades require surgical removal with a new embedded device inserted. Troubleshooting can be accomplished wirelessly. For health reasons returns are not allowed.
You think this isn't coming? Look forward 5-10 years, maybe not even that long!
So in other terms, it dies when you die. You are not supposed to have a heart attack because that would short circuit the device.....LOL
Ouch. Don't forget the optional catheter module. Hear it's going to come in a wide array of designer colors, too.
Where's that spoof video of the iPod Flea that comes with its own tweezers to change song?
Apple says: Step up to the iPhone, people!
Or so I have read at other reviews
Actually, in the real world women have hips and breasts. What you call chunky is the curves of a female body. The television images that have polluted your brain are not real, and if you go outside your house and talk to some real women you will begin to understand.
As for the Shuffle, it does begin to seem absurd that the headphone jack is almost as big as the device. When they shrink down to iPod Chiclet size, what kind of headphones could plug into it?
Maybe Bluetooth headphones will be required, or the Shuffle will just be a set of headphones with a dangling control box....
;-)
It's a condition called iPodschitzonia Applesqueezeyachargecardaccountdementia...turns your brains to mush, making you totally susceptible to suggestions of unnecessary discretionary purchasing to replace perfectly good working devices.
Some women are curvy and some women aren't. There is, just so you know, a lot of variation. And yes, some women, actually a large number of women are overweight, so are a lot of men.
The only thing that stays the SAME is High Prices and that it will die a week after the warranty EXPIRES.
crAPPLE, you get what you pay for .... HYPE.
- by rapier1 March 11, 2009 8:22 AM PDT
- You want a better set of earbuds to use with your new nano? Why would you want that? Apple has decreed that these are the right earbuds and the only ones you will ever need!
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- by biggstuu March 11, 2009 8:26 AM PDT
- and look more trolls, there's a whole troll village? OMG who woulda thunk it?
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- by xcal78 March 11, 2009 8:45 AM PDT
- Complete with a troll cop!
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- by Perry_Clease March 11, 2009 9:00 AM PDT
- It looks like other earbuds will work, but true enough that remains to be seen. Of course "standard" ones won't have the controls, but there are some controls on the top of the Shuffle.
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- by ZetaZeta_ March 11, 2009 9:08 AM PDT
- He may sound like a troll, but he brings up a good point. There's probably no way I can use my bose or sony headphones with this thing. I'm probably going to be forced to use the apple or 3rd party ripoff phones.
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- by rapier1 March 11, 2009 11:20 AM PDT
- Troll or not the point is that they didn't *have* to go with this limiting design. The could have simply put the controls on a extender cord allowing you to use any ear bud you want with this design. They didn't because that's not the Apple way. Don't get me wrong, I use quite a few Apple products but there is a definite idea in Apple that their way is the right way and there isn't any need for other options.
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- by ikramerica--2008 March 11, 2009 11:46 AM PDT
- I have the original white "pack of gum" shuffle. It's great, but at 1GB, you really don't need to have multiple playlists.
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- by Draxon March 11, 2009 4:32 PM PDT
- by rapier1 : so your point is they didn't "have" to make it so limiting.. is that like you don't "have" to buy it?
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Showing 1 of 5 pages (176 Comments)Of course, there's nothing saying someone won't make some kind of converter down the line, but that will take some more space in your pocket and negate some of the value of having a small device.
I'm surprised apple didn't just go the whole nine yards and offer some kind of headset shell to slip this iPod into, so you could wear it on your ear. (Even better, bluetooth wireless to send the other stereo channel over to a second earphone on your other ear).
I can't understand why they would remove the buttons on the new 4GB design. And I never use the Apple ear buds, so now do we have to pay for an adapter cable to bring your own headphones? That's what I had to do with my Sony phone, and while that kind of adapter works fine, it would increase the cost of getting a shuffle by $39 or something stupid. Why not just get a Nano/Mini instead at that price?
I'll pass on this stupid design, unless there are some hidden controls I'm not seeing?