Apple Releases Smaller 4GB iPod Shuffle with 'VoiceOver'


Recommended Posts

083649-shuffle.jpg

Apple released two new iPod Shuffles with an even smaller design today. The updates were predicted at the very last minute this morning.

The new 4GB devices are priced at $79 and can hold up to 1000 songs. These new iPod Shuffles adopt a more vertical shape than the previous model, but are smaller overall. The previous generation iPod shuffles remain available for purchase.

Apple also added a new "VoiceOver" feature that allows the iPod shuffle to speak your sing titles, arists and playlist names. All of the controls are located on the earphone cord.

"Imagine your music player talking to you, telling you your song titles, artists and playlist names," said Greg Joswiak, Apple's vice president of iPod and iPhone Product Marketing. "The amazingly small new iPod shuffle takes a revolutionary approach to how you listen to your music by talking to you, also making it the first iPod shuffle with playlists."

More details are available on Apple's iPod Shuffle section of their website.

Source: Mac Rumors

All the controls are on the headphones you say....?

Way to go apple. I can't use my headphones now, gotta use your crappy things.

It won't be long before third parties release compatible headphones.

i don't like the design as compared to the old ones. the colours look bland and uninteresting and the shape is like a stick of gum or something. however, the features do look interesting and its good they removed the dock so you can sync it with a case on.

oh and one more thing. how does it read out japanese/chinese/foreign artists. does it have the capacity to store all the languages for voiceover in there?

Edited by SojIrOu

the voice Over features is rather cool i still have my original First Gen Ipod Shuffle too bad my ipod Touch does not have voiceover i wonder if they are going to add it lol :o

It won't be long before third parties release compatible headphones.

I don't want to be buying another pair. I already have a ?90 set... lol

I wont be buying this, i'll stick with my iPhone. But i can only see this selling to new customers, and not existing ones.

I don't want to be buying another pair. I already have a ?90 set... lol

I wont be buying this, i'll stick with my iPhone. But i can only see this selling to new customers, and not existing ones.

lol. same here. my earphones costs more than 3 shuffles. does apple expect me to use theirs instead? i guess people with good earphones probably can afford a better ipod anyway.

lol. same here. my earphones costs more than 3 shuffles. does apple expect me to use theirs instead? i guess people with good earphones probably can afford a better ipod anyway.

Exactly. I doubt audiophiles are the market Apple is trying to cater for with the Shuffle.

yeah. the previous shuffle has a horrible hiss that is masked out by the stock earphones. but i wonder what about those who wants to use a different set. their choices are incredibly limited to just 1 for now and i doubt many decent earphone makers would make a compatible one just for the shuffle which costs less than their earphones anyway.

lol. same here. my earphones costs more than 3 shuffles. does apple expect me to use theirs instead? i guess people with good earphones probably can afford a better ipod anyway.

Precisely. If you're willing to pay for stellar headphones, you're probably not going to waste money on a Shuffle.

I've used the "three button remote" style apple headphones and find them to be a complete pain in the ass.

They have a tendency to "drop" clicks and turn a "rewind" tripple click into a "fast forward" double click. You can try again -6 clicks- and hope for better but you are just as likely to end up two more tracks ahead and paused.

Most of the time I end up just pulling the phone out of my pocket to figure out what the hell has gone wrong.

You get simmilar problems with fast forward turning into play / pause.

Sandisk makes a MP3 player called the FUZE. It is a 2-8gb MP3 player with an SD card expansion slot for about $70. So you can expand the memory with a 32gb card and have a 32+gb mp3 player for $70. It also has a screen and plays great. Got one of my young nieces this at xmas since she is young and I didnt want to get her something overly expensive since she will break it. This also got great reviews...oh, it plays Video as well.

So yea, $80 for the new shuffle...or $70 and you get lots more...u decide. Would be different if the shuffle was cheaper than it is...but it isnt.

That has got to be one of the most pointless upgrades in Apple's history :blink: . I'm sorry, but no controls except on the headset? They could at least have made it two piece, similar to the PSP headset so you have an option to use your own if you have it. But with this you'll stuck with the Apple branded ones, which is exactly what they like to do. I do like the idea that the Shuffle represents, it doesn't need a screen as the memory was small, but I think this is taking it a bit too far.

Frankly, I'll be surprised if anyone buys this, what with better offerings from other competitions.

Scirwode

This style of headphone has been out since the iPod Touch v2 release, they aren't some new shuffle-only proprietary standard like most people seem to be saying. I'm sure that, just like with it iPhone, adapters will be made (or are already made) that give you the control clicker while letting you plug in your own headphones, or are complete headphone sets designed with the control clicker inline. The controls are supported by at least the iPod touch and iPod nano released last year already.

That has got to be one of the most pointless upgrades in Apple's history :blink: . I'm sorry, but no controls except on the headset? They could at least have made it two piece, similar to the PSP headset so you have an option to use your own if you have it. But with this you'll stuck with the Apple branded ones, which is exactly what they like to do. I do like the idea that the Shuffle represents, it doesn't need a screen as the memory was small, but I think this is taking it a bit too far.

Frankly, I'll be surprised if anyone buys this, what with better offerings from other competitions.

Scirwode

The 2nd Gen shuffles were much better and had controls on the player itself. Seems that Apple moved the controls to the headphones so they could ad a clip to the player.

The 2nd Gen shuffles were much better and had controls on the player itself. Seems that Apple moved the controls to the headphones so they could ad a clip to the player.

I think that the previous gen had a clip as well. It makes sense when you consider that that vast majority of people this is targeted at will use either the standard or in-ear Apple headphones. I think it would have been nice to have the same style controls from the headphones on the unit itself, but that would have also been a bit redundant since all of Apple's new headphones come with the controller on board.

I think the idea of this shuffle is to be as small and as durable as possible.

Since it's a small little device which is meant to be attached to some clothing which could be flailing all over the place.

I bet you could drop this new thing from a tall building, and it'd just bounce off the floor and be okay! You'll probably find a dent or two, but hey!

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • US citizens are paying to their government, who could use that to fund healthcare and tuition and relieve the costs of these for citizens instead of making tax breaks that overwhelmingly favor the rich. I'm not saying that tariffs are the correct solution, but what else would they be used for? What else could Trump have in mind for wanting them, if he hasn't figured out that labor costs are higher in the US?
    • I’m in need of a new chair and it sounds like the backrest cannot be locked? I also sat on a Herman miller and was devastated that it couldn’t be locked also, what is going on with chairs. I want to be able to lock the backrest into any position but not even the Herman’s do that
    • Sihoo Doro C300 Pro V2 Ergonomic Office Chair review: The Ikea of chairs by Steven Parker I've reviewed a few gaming chairs over the past three years or so and generally found them to score well in our reviews. SIHOO reached out asking if I was interested in taking a look at their flagship chair, the Doro C300 Pro V2. I never got the chance to check out its predecessor, but the V2 is described as an "Adaptive Ergonomic Chair." It became available to buy in April of this year. Let's get things rolling with a closer look at the specifications and features. Specifications Doro C300 Pro V2 Model Ergonomic Materials Mesh Back and Seat; Soft PU Coated Armrests Height adjustability 45.5 - 53 cm / 17.5" - 20.9" Seat (w+d) 52 x 43 - 47 cm / 20.5" x 16.9" - 18.5" (adjustable) Backrest 52 – 60 cm / 20.5" - 23.6" (adjustable) Lumbar support Mesh built-in (adjustable) Armrest adjustability 8D Bionic Armrests Rocking angle 105°, 120°, 135° (fixed) Neck support Mesh built-in (adjustable) Net weight 27.3 kg / 59.64 lbs Weight support 150 kg / 330 lbs Colors Black, White Warranty 5 years (upon registering) Price $499.99, $539.99 Introduction At first glance, it looks like a chair that in another life wants to be a Herman Miller; It certainly looks like my Aeron Remastered, but the Doro C300 Pro V2 has quite a few more features and costs quite a bit less. SIHOO says that it is made up of a "DynaCore" system that tracks your movement and synchronizes the headrest, backrest, lumbar support, and armrests as you shift, twist, or recline. They also say that the "SyncroFlex Backrest" molds to your spine, which kind of describes how the mesh fabric works in most ergonomic chairs, but anyway. Below are the meat and potatoes measurements for the chair. Here is the same tech sheet, but in inches. Durability I would be remiss to not talk about the various durability testing this chair underwent before coming to market, as this is claimed on the product page. First of all, the chair is BIFMA-, SGS-, and TÜV-certified. As for durability, the tests undergone were: 100,000 Castor cycles tested 120,000 Armrest cycles tested 120,000 Recline cycles tested 120,000 Gas lift cycles tested 60,000 Armrest durability cycles tested 120,000 Rotation cycles tested Nothing about weights testing, though. Now that's all disclosed, now onto my own personal findings. Assembly The Doro C300 Pro V2 came in two large boxes (1) (2), and everything was packed very well, protecting the different parts of the chair. In the box, there is a folded sheet that explains the 12 steps to assemble it; they are: Remove the bottom cover on the aluminum base; Insert the five legs into the aluminum base and use ten screws to fasten them; Insert the castors into the legs; Replace the bottom cover on the bottom of the aluminum base; Place the Class 4 Hydraulics gas cylinder into the aluminum base; Screw the bottom part of the arm rests, taking care of the orientation using two screws on each side; Use three torx screws to fasten the footrest to the bottom of the seat; Fasten the backrest to the seat using four torx bolts; Fasten the armrests to the backrest using four Torx bolts (two on each side), taking care to note the orientation; Place the chair onto the Class 4 Hydraulics gas cylinder; Insert the headrest into the top of the backrest; Use two torx screws to fasten the headrest to the backrest. There's also an online guide you can refer to. Carefully unpacking the two boxes took around 15 minutes because almost everything is wrapped in plastic and protective foam; the chair assembly itself took around an hour. I say in the above assembly steps to take note of the orientation, because it's not obvious which way around the bottom portion of the armrests go, and although there is an L and R on the bottom of the armrests, it also wasn't clear from the instructions which was actually left or right, facing the chair, or in the seated down orientation? Anyway, I ended up putting the bottom portions on the wrong sides, and after securing one of the armrests, I discovered that although it was on the correct side, the armrest base could rotate a full 360°, but not when bolted to the chair, so I had to remove it, rotate it, and then bolt it back on. Truly an Ikea experience! Also, to complicate things further, although all the parts are labeled from A to X (yes, that's 24 parts) unhelpfully, these letters do not appear on the parts themselves or the package with the bolts, screws, and washers. There's also a pair of protective gloves in the box, but I think they were made for much smaller hands than I have. Even my friend, who is 5.1, had difficulty putting them on. Once assembled, I needed to sit down. Anyway, as I said, it looks quite similar to my Herman Miller. And here is the back of it. If you look at the product page and on Amazon, it seems like a lot of thought has gone into the chair itself and what it's capable of, but there is no mention at all about the castors, and this is an area where I think the chair trips up quite quickly. I found it difficult to move the chair in any direction. I asked a friend who came to visit me earlier this week to test my findings, and she said that the wheels were "no good," so it definitely isn't just me. I am 6'2 myself and a big guy, I work from home and gained a few pounds from mostly staying in and the hell away from other people. However, the Doro C300 Pro V2 is rated for up to 150kg (330lbs), which in my case is used well within its max rating. Ergonomics The number of adjustments you can make, right up to setting it in nap mode — which I haven't fully tested yet — is what you'd expect from a premium chair. Yes, you can go up and down (max 7.5 cm adjustment), rock back and forth (with tilt adjustment), and lock the chair between three stages of 105°, 120°, 135°, which is not quite as flat as the AndaSeat I tested at 160°. Some thought has also gone into the "8D" armrests, too, which are cushioned but quite firm; you'll only know it if you press hard into the PU-covered tops, which give about half a centimeter, but it's enough to ensure your skin won't get awkwardly stuck to it in warmer (or sweatier) conditions. It almost feels like plastic and is very easy to keep clean. However, the armrest positions move far too easily, and I am not sure what that "elbow" function is. Maybe it is good for a short person with short arms, anyway, I never used it and kept it flat at all times. There are eight levels of adjustment for the armrests, they are: backwards, forwards, swing left/right, height up and down, tilt, and 360° rotation, which can be handy for desk clearance. As I said, the armrest pads shift far too easily, which could give off an ergonomic vibe, but who wants the armrest sliding when you are shifting weight? The height adjustability does lock into place when lifting and adjusting. Comfort This is ultimately what it boils down to at the end of the day, right? Quite a lot of reviews praise the comfort of this chair, and I don't disagree that the mesh seating is quite comfortable. I am used to the material from my daily Herman Miller. However, the backrest cannot be locked into place, and this is actually a feature; as you shift or recline yourself on the chair, the backrest moves with your body. It took some getting used to. The lumbar gives ample support, but I would have preferred an adjustable one built into the seat base, as this causes the backrest to move up and down at will. Again, as with my previous chair review, this chair is also rated for tall people, but nowhere in the product documentation does it say how tall. Being 6'2 myself, I'm happy to say that the backrest is tall and wide enough, and thought has been given to being able to adjust the neck rest, but as others have mentioned in their reviews, people as tall as 6.2ft is about the limit for the neckrest. Conclusion What I didn't like The footrest is rated for 15kg (33 lbs), which to me seems a bit light, and after looking online, it seems like a chair footrest for adults must be at least twice that rating. In all honesty, they are just hollow metal tubes, so it is not recommended to let a kid sit on them. I also feel like it doesn't really go out far enough for my height, so that kind of puts the dampener on me being able to use it regularly. I'll just have to continue to use my subwoofer as a footrest! I do not like the armrests being able to shift around as easily as they can, and they are a little too forward-positioned in the chair to comfortably sit close to my desk, because even in the lowest height position, they don't allow me to go under the desk like is possible with my Herman Miller. I also feel like this chair could have been delivered partially constructed, especially the armrests on the seat, and why the aluminum base wasn't already pre-constructed (without the castors) is baffling, considering it would have fit in one of the two boxes that way. The instructions also need to be clearer. On the pamphlet, there's an A to X listing (which is also used in the steps), but none of the physical parts use this lettering system! What I did like I'll be honest, I haven't used it for very long, just one week, and seating comfort is subjective after all! Any spills wiped straight off it, the stitching, and the lines look great, not a fray to be seen or stitch out of place. It looks kind of cool, too. My favorite feature of these seats is the nap mode. While you're not lying completely flat, it leans far back enough to make you easily doze off after a heavy gaming or working session. Overall, this chair offers plenty of comfort features. The MSRP does vary quite a bit depending on the region, at £549.99 in the UK, and €580 in Europe, and $599 before tax in the U.S. However, shipping is free, which is a bonus for such a heavy item. Is it worth it, though? At three years' warranty, I think it's a decent deal. Another firm out of Germany sent me a free replacement hydraulic gas spring for a chair that failed after almost four years, so it was well outside its two-year warranty. My advice is to always try, as you might have the same luck I did. If I could fault it at all, it would be the constant shifting of the armrests and backrest. Where to buy Although the footrest variant normally costs $539.99, it has been discounted to $469.99 on the official website in Black or White. In fact, the non-footrest variant is only $40 cheaper. On Amazon, it currently costs more at $499.99 links below. Sihoo Doro C300 Pro V2 for $469.99 (official website) Sihoo Doro C300 Pro V2 for $499.99 at Amazon US SIHOO provided a free sample without any review or pre-approval. Good to know This Amazon link is U.S. specific, and not available in other regions unless specified. We only use first-party seller links (at the time of article publishing); ensure that you purchase from a first-party seller link only. Check out Today's Deals on Amazon | or our recent tech deals. Become a Prime member (for Students or SNAP) via Neowin Get Prime Access - Prime for half price (for qualifying Medicaid, EBT, SNAP) Subscribe to Prime Video, Audible Plus, Music Unlimited or Kindle Unlimited via Neowin As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
    • Making US citizens pay is a prominent tool? Joke of the week…
  • Recent Achievements

    • Conversation Starter
      jessse3334 earned a badge
      Conversation Starter
    • Reacting Well
      JuvenileDelinquent earned a badge
      Reacting Well
    • One Month Later
      Excellence2025 earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Week One Done
      Excellence2025 earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Week One Done
      flexorcist earned a badge
      Week One Done
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      506
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      206
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      151
    4. 4
      Steven P.
      73
    5. 5
      macoman
      62
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!