Apple unveils redesigned iPod shuffle with speech technology

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  • Reply 301 of 341
    Voice over feature is not a small thing, this can give you a hint of how apple is going to introduce voice commands on ipod and iphone. Apple will build on voice over feature and add commands to control ipod and iphone features and applications.

    I can see a voice over API in iphone OS 3.0 (I believe voice recognition can be done out side of the voice over feature) so that developers can integrate that to the applications as well. Voice over feature allows you to control the ipod/iphone via another interface that has it's applications outside of touch screen or buttons on the device itself.
  • Reply 302 of 341
    teckstudteckstud Posts: 6,476member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by CJD2112 View Post


    Sadly, I have to agree. I have posted more in the past five minutes in response to rather ineffectual and immature comments than in my entire few years as a frequent reader on AI. Not a very positive observation on modern day discourse.



    You and the other 2 losers of this thread's debate, one of who's never even owned a shuffle, are just way too upset over all this. Such vile vindictive comments that you and your ilk constantly spew with your ridiculous mantra- just because very few agree with you shows just how immature you are? Sexists "panties" comments and all from you - totally shameful that that's all you bring to the discussion of the new shuffle.

    PATHETIC!
  • Reply 303 of 341
    teckstudteckstud Posts: 6,476member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by meelash View Post


    Unnecessary? WTF DOES THAT EVEN MEAN???



    http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unnecessary
  • Reply 304 of 341
    teckstudteckstud Posts: 6,476member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Abster2core View Post


    Unfortunately CJD2112, there are a lot of assholes here.



    Best to ignore and let them wallow in their own excrement.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by CJD2112 View Post


    Sadly, I have to agree. I have posted more in the past five minutes in response to rather ineffectual and immature comments than in my entire few years as a frequent reader on AI. Not a very positive observation on modern day discourse.



    Enough said about the both of you.
  • Reply 305 of 341
    duecesdueces Posts: 89member
    Quote:







    meelash got burnt
  • Reply 306 of 341
    wigginwiggin Posts: 2,265member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by nvidia2008 View Post


    Um the 3rd party headphone manufacturers have to make new headphones because right now if you plug in a 3rd party headphone into it how the heck would you select the track? There's no buttons on the Shuffle...!



    Before you worry about selecting a track, how are you going to even start playing songs in the first place without a play button?
  • Reply 307 of 341
    wigginwiggin Posts: 2,265member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by teckstud View Post


    So again- this is an unecessary update. Improve the sound quality back to where it was on the 1G shuffle. That's all that's was needed, if anything.



    As long as they are using the headphone jack to also act as a USB port, you'll probably never see the same audio quality as on the 1G shuffle. That can't be good for analog signal quality to have all those other circuits connected to it, even when they are powered down/inactive.
  • Reply 308 of 341
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by teckstud View Post


    You and the other 2 losers of this thread's debate, one of who's never even owned a shuffle, are just way too upset over all this. Such vile vindictive comments that you and your ilk constantly spew with your ridiculous mantra- just because very few agree with you shows just how immature you are? Sexists "panties" comments and all from you - totally shameful that that's all you bring to the discussion of the new shuffle.

    PATHETIC!



    You can not be that clueless. Seriously, you need to reread your comments. I know it's difficult for a narcissistic child to understand how adults maturely communicate. It must be nice sitting behind your monitor and keyboard all comfy and hidden, something tells me if I were face to face with you, you'd be walking funny and squeezing your ass to type...



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by teckstud View Post


    Enough said about the both of you.



    - I guess counting isn't one of your forte's...



    Ok Fit, we'll debate and you can pretend we care.



    Epic fail.
  • Reply 309 of 341
    great for the visually impaired.... not for me, I don't have the patience to click, tap, hold, click click click, and not to mention how bad the Windows voiceovers sound... speaking of the voiceovers it reminded me of songsmith for some reason.



    I don't get it, the click button wheel on the prev Shuffels worked so much smoother compared to this (imo)... why remove a great thing to make it more inconvenient just so you can make it .001mm thinner (fictitious number) than before. I'm sorry, but were people complaining the old Shuffle was too bulky and heavy or something? There is a point of things getting too small where they loose the functionality and this is it.



    Looking only at the pics of this new device, couldn't they still have used click button controls on the Shuffle still.... seems like someone thought the voiceover was too cool to have that they just "had" to implement this somehow on a new product no matter what it took.



    iPod Inviso here it comes.... (so small you can't see it with a naked eye)

    blink blink to play

    wink wink to pause

    scratch left nostril to skip

    lick your lips to repeat

    yank on hair to stop
  • Reply 310 of 341
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by CJD2112 View Post


    Exactly.







    Apples and oranges (couldn't resist). As most on AI know, people who buy Windows based systems do so for many varying reasons (Work compatibility, price compared to a Mac, etc.). Headphones are available in various types ranging from quality, style and finally price. Any one may purchase a pair of SONY earbuds for the same price point as an Apple counterpart. If one does not appreciate the headphones supplied with their iPod, simply purchase another brand (again, this may be done without dropping more coinage than an Apple counterpart). As a NYC resident, nine times out of ten people are using an iPod with Apple headphones.



    Thus, a false statement and comparison.



    People don't choose Apple headphones instead of Sony or any other brand. People use Apple headphones because they come free with every iPod. They consider them "good enough". Try this. Give someone an iPod and a pair of decent $20 in-ear buds at the same time. Tell me how many of them would use the Apple buds? I bet less than half.



    If the iPod were sold without the headphones and people had to fork over $20 for a pair of Apple headphones, do you honestly think you would see so many on the street?
  • Reply 311 of 341
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by tonton View Post


    People don't choose Apple headphones instead of Sony or any other brand. People use Apple headphones because they come free with every iPod. They consider them "good enough". Try this. Give someone an iPod and a pair of decent $20 in-ear buds at the same time. Tell me how many of them would use the Apple buds? I bet less than half.



    If the iPod were sold without the headphones and people had to fork over $20 for a pair of Apple headphones, do you honestly think you would see so many on the street?



    True. Many people would not. Yet I still find it hard to believe that so many over the years would not replace their headphones if they are as bad as some of the commentators claim, and I doubt the iPod would be as successful if the headphones were as bad.



    Headphones are a major iPod component, if they are so terrible why is the iPod lineup doing so well after almost a decade of sales? Consumers will not purchase a music product if one of the main components of said product were so ill equipped in handling music. The headphones aren't great by any means, but they certainly aren't as "crap" as some claim.
  • Reply 312 of 341
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by trevc View Post


    I really don't get why on a Macintosh the Voice Over speech ain't so bad, but the Windows version is DIFFERENT??, and a tad more electronic.



    I would think the technology would be embedded in the shuffle itself unless apple is using the computer to generate the audio for each song when it syncs???!?!



    I'm certain the speech is generated on the fly as you sync in iTunes. I suspect that Mac Users will be able to choose any of the voices built-in to OSX and Windows users will be limited to the original Mac Voices or even a single voice. The voices heard on the demo are both Apple voices. The first one on the demo is "Alex", which is Apple's third-generation voice, introduced with Leopard, and I believe the second one is "Victoria", which was a first generation (pre-PPC) voice. I think iTunes for Mac will use the default voice from your System Preferences, so you can choose one of the 24 voices available in Leopard. I expect the "Victoria" voice will be built-in to iTunes for Windows, so you will not be able to choose another voice.



    I think the reason Apple can't use "Alex" for Windows is not only due to the size of the voice (I've heard it's 700MB) but also due to licensing issues, as "Alex" may be licensed from Cepstral, in which case Apple would have to pay royalties for every version of iTunes downloaded for Windows. "Victoria" is Apple-owned technology and the footprint is low enough to be included in the iTunes download.
  • Reply 313 of 341
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by CJD2112 View Post


    True. Many people would not. Yet I still find it hard to believe that so many over the years would not replace their headphones if they are as bad as some of the commentators claim, and I doubt the iPod would be as successful if the headphones were as bad.



    Headphones are a major iPod component, if they are so terrible why is the iPod lineup doing so well after almost a decade of sales? Consumers will not purchase a music product if one of the main components of said product were so ill equipped in handling music. The headphones aren't great by any means, but they certainly aren't as "crap" as some claim.



    I agree. The reason I hate the Apple headphones has nothing to do with sound quality, which is pretty good, and everything to do with comfort and isolation. Most people haven't tried in-ear buds (or they say "I've tried them once and didn't like them" -- it takes some getting used to), so they don't know the huge difference in comfort level. It's one of those things that once you try (and get used to), you can never imagine going back.
  • Reply 314 of 341
    s.metcalfs.metcalf Posts: 972member
    Agreed. Good thing I don't really need a shuffle any more (happy iPhone owner) because this update that forces you to use Apple earbuds is pathetic.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by nvidia2008 View Post


    Looks bland. Kinda like chewing gum for robots. Intriguing and strangely desirable, nonetheless. Seems too "plain" for Steve to have 100% approved it.



  • Reply 315 of 341
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by s.metcalf View Post


    ...this update that forces you to use Apple earbuds is pathetic.



    Apple moving the controls to the headphones does not mean you are required to use Apple's headphones. There will be plenty of 3rd parties that will make better quality phones with the same control functions. You can already find them for the iPhone. This means little to Apple as most people use Apple's default phones, which is also proven by the cloners trying to mimic the look of Apple's default phones
  • Reply 316 of 341
    The new size and shape = want!



    The proprietary headphones = DO NOT WANT!!

    Do not want wins.



    ** I Left my shuffle headphones at home but I'll pick up another cheap pair on the way to work, oh wait...\
  • Reply 317 of 341
    ~ufo~~ufo~ Posts: 245member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    Apple on Wednesday introduced an all-new iPod shuffle that's nearly half the size of the previoIt speaks 14 languages including English, Czech, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish and Turkish.



    perhaps it's harder to implement, but I find the arabic language a strange omission.
  • Reply 318 of 341
    I sympathize with everyone upset over the headphones- I use my first-gen shuffle to listen to podcasts in the car, with a tape adapter, and that won't exactly work with the new model. However, this is something third-party accessory makers will be all over.



    I'm actually a little miffed that they made it the size and shape of a thumb drive, like the original, but didn't give it a built-in USB plug.
  • Reply 319 of 341
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by FuturePastNow View Post


    I sympathize with everyone upset over the headphones- I use my first-gen shuffle to listen to podcasts in the car, with a tape adapter, and that won't exactly work with the new model. However, this is something third-party accessory makers will be all over.



    I'm actually a little miffed that they made it the size and shape of a thumb drive, like the original, but didn't give it a built-in USB plug.



    I've just read... you can initialize playback without the iPod phones. This will mean that you can play the new shuffle in either shuffle mode or linear mode, with any external setup that has its own volume control, including the car, as long as you don't want to skip tracks, fast-forward or rewind, change playlists, etc.
  • Reply 320 of 341
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by CJD2112 View Post


    I don't understand why this is such a major issue. Clicking through tracks has been available on the iPhone and iPod Touch for years. Using it as the only method of operation may be an issue for some, however decreasing the size by eliminating devices controls seems to be the next logical evolutionary step. As the shuffle is Apple's entry level and smallest iPod, if the controls do not suit a certain demographic then the Nano, Classic and Touch models may be better suited. The shuffle is meant to be just that, a shuffle. It never appealed to me as playlists and other iPod standard functions were not available, however with this new system these functions are now available.



    Just as any new HID, the general public may be split in approval opinions. However, over time people will become accustomed to this new method of input control and the complaints will fade away.



    Here's why I don't think the controls suit me. First of all, don't like to shuffle through my tracks. I put albums on there and listen in sequence most of the time. Say I want to skip ahead five tracks. What was it, two clicks to advance? So I have to double-click, wait, double-click, wait, double-click, wait, double-click, wait, double-click. Or, on my current shuffle, click-click-click-click-click on the forward button. Much simpler in my opinion.



    Just as any new HID, the general public may be split in approval opinions. However, over time people will renounce this new method of input control and the device will fade away.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by gmcalpin View Post


    Tell that to the people who no longer need to fumble around to figure out what buttons they're pushing while they're jogging, skiing, riding their bike, skateboarding or whatever.



    Well, I am one of those people. Fortunately I possess the brain power to remember how my Shuffle is oriented on my shirt / shorts so when my finger touches the ring, I know where to press it to get the desired result. This is why I bought my shuffle. And I'm quite happy with it.
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