Its about appealing/reaching the masses, not the 100 AI whiners on here!!!!! Watch the stock, one more reason to go long, plus all the refresh of products this summer.
Speaking song titles is probably the dumbest waste of tech I've ever heard of. They spent the time money and effort on that, but they still resist even a one line display?
Oh, and a new bonus!! They've raised the price too!
They did the raise the price by $10, but they doubled the capacity, added new SW features (not just VoiceOver) and included more expensive headphones.
Albeit the cost of flash has fallen and the controls are probably cheaper to include on the commodity headphones than on the player itself.
As for VoiceOVer being a dumb tech, for my use of the iPod Shuffle?and I think for many others?the display is pointless as the device is clipped on our shirts or trousers well out of visual range to read a small display, much less a single line display. Despite the obvious the difference in sound quality I prefer the Shuffle over the Nano because of the size and because I don't want to alter my visual focus when working out/jogging. The only cavet was the awkward way to change tracks when it was clipped to my shirt sleeve. This now solves all those issues.
As for VoiceOVer being a dumb tech, for my use of the iPod Shuffle—and I think for many others—the display is pointless as the device is clipped on our shirts or trousers well out of visual range to read a small display, much less a single line display. Despite the obvious the difference in sound quality I prefer the Shuffle over the Nano because of the size and because I don't want to alter my visual focus when working out/jogging. The only cavet was the awkward way to change tracks when it was clipped to my shirt sleeve. This now solves all those issues.
Or you could have just clipped it to your pants like everbody else.
This is a complete deal breaker for me, as can never get those old-style earbuds to stay in my ears; which is a real shame, because apart from that the device looks excellent.
This is a clever and pretty cool update imo, but it is clearly a design update for the sake of updating. The low cost iPod line needs frequent updates to stay relevant and the voice over feature is primarily a gimmick - apart from the ability to select playlists. On previous shuffles there was no way to work with playlists in a meaningful way.
As far as cable controls and third party buds go - I am sure this was not really a major consideration. My guess is that 99% (at least) of all shuffle owners go with Apple buds. For the rest of us there are several previous Shuffle iterations that work just fine.
Its about appealing/reaching the masses, not the 100 AI whiners on here!!!!! Watch the stock, one more reason to go long, plus all the refresh of products this summer.
But I AM looking into the newer in-ear headphones (Apple) for my iPhone. They have a remote, and they are higher quality than the standard headphones.
Bass could be better, but besides that they are pretty good. Comfortable, too, though waterboarding would be comfortable compared to using Apple's default headphones for an hour.
Quote:
Originally Posted by teckstud
At the gym my headphones go down the back of my neck, not the front, due to sweat and they get in the way- so this is totally worthless to me, not to mention that I know what I want to hear in the gym- the music. I don't want voices speaking to me- that's why I wear headphones.
That is my one cavet. I use Sony in-ear phones with my 2G Shuffle. They are made to go behind the neck, have different length cables to remove extraneous wires and are segmented so you can plug them into the device clipped to my shirt sleeve without further unneeded wires. I expect Sony is probably working on a pair for about $50 right now.
At the gym my headphones go down the back of my neck, not the front, due to sweat and they get in the way- so this is totally worthless to me, not to mention that I know what I want to hear in the gym- the music. I don't want voices speaking to me- that's why I wear headphones.
Yeah the voices in my head are enough... I kid, I kid...
Who cares? Apple Design is all about reducing everything to its most basic form. Soon the iPod Shuffle will be nothing but a transparent cube the size of a tooth. Boom!
Apple should just get full telepathy direct from Cupertino all over the world working already. That way they don't actually have to make *any* hardware. Just focus on the virtual voice, touch, sound, software, etc.... AppleInsiders will still whine..." What? You mean the're only offering 200 terabit/sec songs on iTunes PsyStore through Psyport (get it? Psychic+Airport)? Apple sucks I'm buying a PsyZune! I wanted 50,000 terabits/sec dammit! The audio quality is lousy! And it makes my ears sweat. And I have to blink my eyes *twice* to initiate the download instead of once...! Apple, you've lost my business!
BTW no iTunes 8.1 download yet. Will 8.1 make my iTunes snappier?
From what I've read, they will still sell the 2G design. I'm definitely happy about that, as it was the best gym/jogging MP3 player I've ever found. Small, light, and the controls on the unit make it convenient. I always have the cable running inside my shirt so it isn't flopping around while running, with the shuffle clipped to the bottom of my shirt. The controls on the headphones will be annoying, nit just because you need to play hide and seek to change songs (I have a short attention span when jogging), but because it will add some weight (not much, but every bit counts) to the cord, which could be annoying.
In other words, Apple drags their heels with updating their desktops, but then give us an update no one was asking for. Point?
The controls, including play button, are built into the earbuds. There are no control buttons on the player. Without an adapter, you'd have no way to have it play music, nor pause, volume control, etc.
How in the hell does Apple think they can force people to buy their cheap crappy headphones? They can't possible expect to be able to cut off the entire audio headphone industry can they?
Looks bland. Kinda like chewing gum for robots. Intriguing and strangely desirable, nonetheless. Seems too "plain" for Steve to have 100% approved it.
There's no reason for Jobs not to have approved the design. He began his leave of absence less than two months a go; the design must have been finalized by then, or it wouldn't now be ready to ship. The device's design also seems perfectly consistent with his fondness for minimalism.
How the heck does this thing connect to a computer? It is narrower than Apple's standard iPod connector? Have they finally moved to a standard USB connector?
Oh, and I am another that will not be upgrading until a pass-through is available. I connect my iPod to my car stereo's, AUX port through a 3.5 jack. With this new control scheme there is no way for me to do this. No matter how great the earbuds are they cannot connect to a 3.5 jack in my car.
There's no reason for Jobs not to have approved the design. He began his leave of absence less than two months a go; the design must have been finalized by then, or it wouldn't now be ready to ship. The device's design also seems perfectly consistent with his fondness for minimalism.
This is *really* minimalistic. Might have been nicer, IMHO, with the Apple logo (subtly) on the front instead of the clip side.
Comments
Speaking song titles is probably the dumbest waste of tech I've ever heard of. They spent the time money and effort on that, but they still resist even a one line display?
Oh, and a new bonus!! They've raised the price too!
They did the raise the price by $10, but they doubled the capacity, added new SW features (not just VoiceOver) and included more expensive headphones.
Albeit the cost of flash has fallen and the controls are probably cheaper to include on the commodity headphones than on the player itself.
As for VoiceOVer being a dumb tech, for my use of the iPod Shuffle?and I think for many others?the display is pointless as the device is clipped on our shirts or trousers well out of visual range to read a small display, much less a single line display. Despite the obvious the difference in sound quality I prefer the Shuffle over the Nano because of the size and because I don't want to alter my visual focus when working out/jogging. The only cavet was the awkward way to change tracks when it was clipped to my shirt sleeve. This now solves all those issues.
Looks bland. Kinda like chewing gum for robots. Intriguing and strangely desirable, nonetheless. Seems too "plain" for Steve to have 100% approved it.
One step forward, twelve steps back- like Paula Abdul.
As for VoiceOVer being a dumb tech, for my use of the iPod Shuffle—and I think for many others—the display is pointless as the device is clipped on our shirts or trousers well out of visual range to read a small display, much less a single line display. Despite the obvious the difference in sound quality I prefer the Shuffle over the Nano because of the size and because I don't want to alter my visual focus when working out/jogging. The only cavet was the awkward way to change tracks when it was clipped to my shirt sleeve. This now solves all those issues.
Or you could have just clipped it to your pants like everbody else.
This is a complete deal breaker for me, as can never get those old-style earbuds to stay in my ears; which is a real shame, because apart from that the device looks excellent.
This is a clever and pretty cool update imo, but it is clearly a design update for the sake of updating. The low cost iPod line needs frequent updates to stay relevant and the voice over feature is primarily a gimmick - apart from the ability to select playlists. On previous shuffles there was no way to work with playlists in a meaningful way.
As far as cable controls and third party buds go - I am sure this was not really a major consideration. My guess is that 99% (at least) of all shuffle owners go with Apple buds. For the rest of us there are several previous Shuffle iterations that work just fine.
Ah.....but is it snappier?
Ha! Brilliant
But I AM looking into the newer in-ear headphones (Apple) for my iPhone. They have a remote, and they are higher quality than the standard headphones.
Bass could be better, but besides that they are pretty good. Comfortable, too, though waterboarding would be comfortable compared to using Apple's default headphones for an hour.
At the gym my headphones go down the back of my neck, not the front, due to sweat and they get in the way- so this is totally worthless to me, not to mention that I know what I want to hear in the gym- the music. I don't want voices speaking to me- that's why I wear headphones.
That is my one cavet. I use Sony in-ear phones with my 2G Shuffle. They are made to go behind the neck, have different length cables to remove extraneous wires and are segmented so you can plug them into the device clipped to my shirt sleeve without further unneeded wires. I expect Sony is probably working on a pair for about $50 right now.
At the gym my headphones go down the back of my neck, not the front, due to sweat and they get in the way- so this is totally worthless to me, not to mention that I know what I want to hear in the gym- the music. I don't want voices speaking to me- that's why I wear headphones.
Yeah the voices in my head are enough...
Ah.....but is it snappier?
No, but it is clippier.
(I know that was lame)
Has the sound been improved?
Who cares? Apple Design is all about reducing everything to its most basic form. Soon the iPod Shuffle will be nothing but a transparent cube the size of a tooth. Boom!
Apple should just get full telepathy direct from Cupertino all over the world working already. That way they don't actually have to make *any* hardware. Just focus on the virtual voice, touch, sound, software, etc.... AppleInsiders will still whine..." What? You mean the're only offering 200 terabit/sec songs on iTunes PsyStore through Psyport (get it? Psychic+Airport)? Apple sucks I'm buying a PsyZune! I wanted 50,000 terabits/sec dammit! The audio quality is lousy! And it makes my ears sweat. And I have to blink my eyes *twice* to initiate the download instead of once...! Apple, you've lost my business!
BTW no iTunes 8.1 download yet. Will 8.1 make my iTunes snappier?
In other words, Apple drags their heels with updating their desktops, but then give us an update no one was asking for. Point?
I'm more annoyed that the clip doesn't match on the charcoal body.
The controls, including play button, are built into the earbuds. There are no control buttons on the player. Without an adapter, you'd have no way to have it play music, nor pause, volume control, etc.
How in the hell does Apple think they can force people to buy their cheap crappy headphones? They can't possible expect to be able to cut off the entire audio headphone industry can they?
In other words, Apple drags their heels with updating their desktops, but then give us an update no one was asking for. Point?
Apple's desktop customers, in large part, aren't buying Macs based on specs.
Apple's iPod customers, overwhelmingly, do buy iPods based on fashion and design.
Looks bland. Kinda like chewing gum for robots. Intriguing and strangely desirable, nonetheless. Seems too "plain" for Steve to have 100% approved it.
There's no reason for Jobs not to have approved the design. He began his leave of absence less than two months a go; the design must have been finalized by then, or it wouldn't now be ready to ship. The device's design also seems perfectly consistent with his fondness for minimalism.
Oh, and I am another that will not be upgrading until a pass-through is available. I connect my iPod to my car stereo's, AUX port through a 3.5 jack. With this new control scheme there is no way for me to do this. No matter how great the earbuds are they cannot connect to a 3.5 jack in my car.
http://www.apple.com/ipod/inearheadphones/
There's no reason for Jobs not to have approved the design. He began his leave of absence less than two months a go; the design must have been finalized by then, or it wouldn't now be ready to ship. The device's design also seems perfectly consistent with his fondness for minimalism.
This is *really* minimalistic.