Apple Releases Third Generation iPod shuffle

Rob Williams

Editor-in-Chief
Staff member
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From our front-page news:
Apple today announced a brand-new iPod shuffle model that they claim is the world's smallest, and unless anyone else disagrees, I think it might be true. The new form-factor is half of the size of the previous shuffle, and at 1.8" tall and 0.3" thin, it's smaller than a AA battery, and a wee bit shorter than a house key. No surprise, Apple designs the shuffle to be a fashion accessory, and for the most part, it looks good. I can't help but feel it's way too small for my personal tastes, though.

Aside from the addition of more storage (4GB), the touted new feature on this model is "VoiceOver", a technology that reads out the song artist and titles for you. Yes, it sounds like a robot, but I'm not sure it's meant to be used for serious matters. Because the shuffle lacks a screen, this voice is designed to aide in finding your way around your music collection. With it, you can select different playlists or songs, before switching to them.

For that to work well though, you'd have to make sure your collection is sitting on the shuffle in an ideal fashion, and everything should belong to a playlist, else it's going to take a while to find the song you're looking for. The player itself features no buttons, and those are rather stored on the earbuds cord in a convenient location. That fact there brings me to another huge "con", though. Because the earbuds are tied into the shuffle, you'd be unable to use your own, or upgrade to headphones. If you don't mind Apple's earbuds though, this might not matter too much.

Update: According to a response from Apple to CNET, the company will be allowing third-party manufacturers to produce earbuds/headphones that will work in the new shuffle. An adapter will also be made available to allow you to use your own headphones. It's nice to have the option, but that suddenly brings the shuffle much higher than its $79 USD price tag.

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You’ve probably made multiple playlists in iTunes. One for your commute. One for the gym. One for just chilling out. With the new iPod shuffle, you can sync your playlists and always find the perfect mix for your activity or mood. VoiceOver tells you the name of each playlist, so it’s easy to switch between them and find the one you want without looking.


Source: Apple iPod shuffle
 
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I still prefer the 1st generation shuffle even though I can't look at one now without snickering thanks to the "you peed on my ipod..." skit from a few years back. Damn thing did look like a home pregnancy test.
 

Kougar

Techgage Staff
Staff member
Eh, what a gimmick.

They should list one of the selling points as being able to hide it inside a real pack of chewing gum as I bet some students are going to be doing... ;) Probably the biggest selling point looks to be how easy it would be to hide one of these things... except now students can discreetly change the tracks without needing to move the player. ;)
 

Greg King

I just kinda show up...
Staff member
I love the size but worry about how many times I would misplace one of these. I lose my thumb drives for weeks at a time so with this being so damned small, I stand no chance.

Having owned a iPod classic and currently using an iPod touch and a flash based Zune, I prefer the Zune above anything else that I have both seen and used. The size coupled with the phenomenal Zune software has me railing against Apple and iTunes as much as possible.

Kudos to Apple for making it so small but it's just not for me.
 

Rob Williams

Editor-in-Chief
Staff member
Moderator
I agree... this thing is far too small. It's not that discreet either though... the player could be invisible, but if you are wearing earbuds, it pretty-much gives you away.

I still prefer the 1st generation shuffle even though I can't look at one now without snickering thanks to the "you peed on my ipod..." skit from a few years back. Damn thing did look like a home pregnancy test.

Haha, I never heard or saw that one. Sounds good though.
 

Kougar

Techgage Staff
Staff member
I agree... this thing is far too small. It's not that discreet either though... the player could be invisible, but if you are wearing earbuds, it pretty-much gives you away.

You might be amazed just how well those can be hidden, especially if using anyone's other than Apple's white ones. Just visit a public high school where they are banned in the classroom... ;)
 

Rob Williams

Editor-in-Chief
Staff member
Moderator
You might be amazed just how well those can be hidden, especially if using anyone's other than Apple's white ones. Just visit a public high school where they are banned in the classroom... ;)

You mean without having an 80's metal hairstyle?!
 
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