Apple Releases Smaller 4GB iPod Shuffle with 'VoiceOver'

[Quillz]

A new Apple device on a Wednesday?

[Creamy]

The shuffle never had the dock connector. The first gen has a USB connector, but the second gen used the headphone port, same as this version.

It would look weird I think...

[DiEMOS]

Good stuff, IMO Apple has done it again with their marketing. They make it smaller, add playlists and voice over and woop another good product, even though it costs them almost nothing to make it.

[Nemo Live]

Good stuff, IMO Apple has done it again with their marketing. They make it smaller, add playlists and voice over and woop another good product, even though it costs them almost nothing to make it.

Does what again? Convince their consumers to enter a trapped eco-system or hope(know) they're just clueless?

New iPod shuffle requires EXTRA Adapter for third-party headphones

non-Apple headphones will require a special dongle that includes the new three-button controller, and Apple says it's "working" with third parties to bring other compatible 'phones to market. Yes, Apple's cheapest iPod is now the most needlessly complex, and far from cost-effective if you want to use your own cans: assuming the adapter will cost between $20 and $30 like most other Apple accessories, you're looking at minimum $100 outlay for the new shuffle, and at that point you might as well pick up a $150 iPod nano, which is also VoiceOver-enabled in addition to having twice the storage, dongle-less controls, a screen, and numerous other features.

[Steeley]

It looks ok, I'll give them that. But I don't need a smaller ipod than my existing shuffle and I don't need more space. Can you imagine filling up 4GB of music without an interface to browse it? I rarely fill up my existing shuffle, I open it up nearly every day to add a new playlist or album just so I don't risk hitting the next button and getting a song I don't really like that much. And at $A129 it's nearly double the price of the existing entry-level shuffle...no thanks! 10 points for effort though!

[Dischordiant]

Is the voice-over Steve Jobs whispering how special and unique you are for buying an Apple product..?

[techbeck]

Good stuff, IMO Apple has done it again with their marketing. They make it smaller, add playlists and voice over and woop another good product, even though it costs them almost nothing to make it.

Yea, done it again for releasing a product that costs way to much for what it does. Look at Sandisks MP3 players as well as Creatives. Playlists are OLD NEWS and the voice over is useless. The only reason they added a vocie over option is because there is no screen and Apple knew that people would bitch about that. So they added the voice feature to shut some people up...but not those of us who know better.

[MrChainsaw]

Clever

[MrChainsaw]

//////////WOW!\\\\\\\\\ I just had this thought, since these earphones have now I mic, would it now be possible to turn an iPod touch into a phone type of thing.

[Guest]

//////////WOW!\\\\\\\\\ I just had this thought, since these earphones have now I mic, would it now be possible to turn an iPod touch into a phone type of thing.

Welcome to last year :laugh:

http://lifehacker.com/378511/turn-your-ipo...-into-an-iphone

[MrChainsaw]

But the mic with headphone wasnt officially made by apple.

[King Antonius]

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.

Wait. What? No.

Just no.

$70 for the machine. then however fuch for a 32gb SD card, which i bet isn't cheap...

[NeoXY]

For those complaining about the controls...

Do keep in mind what kind of market Apple is trying to capture. The shuffle is used when people are at the gym, on a run etc. Chances of them using a pair of 300 dollar earphones are slim. They don't really care what bitrate their music is at as long as its there. The controls that you can use without looking down and fumbling with the player itself is what Apple was going for. Think about it, you clip it on your clothing and start running, no worry about unclipping it to change a song or anything else, the controls are right up where your ears are. Its a good design. As long as you fall into Apple's design target...

And my thoughts on this personally...

"Its just another small thing I'm gonna lose." Seriously. The thing is about what? 1/6 the size of a playing card.

[zeroday]

"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."

Bahahaa. Because the good old system of reading it yourself just isn't enoug:rofl:l: Revolutionary my ass.

[Smigit]

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

Yeah my earphones cost $220AU and any headphones I have at home or work even more.

Not only does this require new earphones OR an external "control", the control itself IMHO completely defeats the point of having the actual unit itself smaller given that the control unit just adds extra weight and bulk to the connection between the player and phones. It seems a bit rediculous to talk up it's small form factor when to actually use it you need an external box.

For those complaining about the controls...

Do keep in mind what kind of market Apple is trying to capture. The shuffle is used when people are at the gym, on a run etc. Chances of them using a pair of 300 dollar earphones are slim. They don't really care what bitrate their music is at as long as its there. The controls that you can use without looking down and fumbling with the player itself is what Apple was going for. Think about it, you clip it on your clothing and start running, no worry about unclipping it to change a song or anything else, the controls are right up where your ears are. Its a good design. As long as you fall into Apple's design target...

I would have thought the old "clip" design would have been more suitable to joggers and practically anyone else to be honest. If they needed to make it smaller, just make the clip mechanism removable. As it is you now have not only the player itself but an intermediate control in the cord. It's just another thing to either attach somewhere or leave flapping about as you run. So yes, I think even for the market you mentioned this is a backwards step.

Edited March 11, 2009 by Smigit

[Nemo Live]

Engadget unveils the contrast.

[HistoricalNeowin]

I have a laptop, it has a keyboard, it would be thinner without the keyboard, but I like buttons. What are they doing, really, what :|

People use shuffles at the gym, they can only use apple earphones which fall out of your ear, and if they dont already, they will when youre fiddling with the control attached to them.

[backdrifter]

OK, seriously, who the hell was sleeping on his job when they released a 4 GB player (with ~1000 songs) without a screen?? I mean if this was a small-sized $20 uber-cheap player, then I would praise the voiceover as a clever idea, but come on, this is just stupid.

Edited March 11, 2009 by backdrifter

[Purple Haze]

"Having a Max Headroom-like voice slowly tell me what song I'm listening to instead of just playing the *&%#( song" was right between "added cough drop taste" and "dipped in AIDS" on my list of iPod Shuffle features I was hoping for.

[Stetson]

"Having a Max Headroom-like voice slowly tell me what song I'm listening to instead of just playing the *&%#( song" was right between "added cough drop taste" and "dipped in AIDS" on my list of iPod Shuffle features I was hoping for.

It only plays back the song info when you ask it to.

[Randolph]

and at that point you might as well pick up a $150 iPod nano, which is also VoiceOver-enabled in addition to having twice the storage, dongle-less controls, a screen, and numerous other features.

um no?

since when does the new nanos have voice over? i think this is highly inaccurate if im not mistaken?

[richardsim7]

um no?

since when does the new nanos have voice over? i think this is highly inaccurate if im not mistaken?

http://www.apple.com/ipodnano/specs.html

Under "Accessibility" ;)

-Rich-

[DanManIt]

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.

I know, why would I want the controls on my headphones?

[Crazysah]

These look like they are much better than the older iPod Shuffles. I have had Shuffles before but the VoiceOver feature is really tempting.

[JahnnyBoy]

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

For a premium. Why spend $80 on a Shuffle, and then another (possibly) $40 on replacement headphones when you can get a similar small MP3 player like the one from Sandisk for $80 (without DRM) and you can use any headphones with them?