New iPod Shuffles released - new VoiceOver feature

[Kaido]

http://www.apple.com/ipodshuffle/

Features:
-Zippo-shaped
-Still has a clip
-VoiceOver feature - your iPod talks to you
-4GB (1000 songs)
-$79
-Black or Silver
-Controls located on earbud cord
-Free laser engraving

Maybe I'm missing something there, but if the iPod controls are mounted on the earbud cord...then you can't use other headphones and still control your music? 😕 The iPod earbuds don't fit my ears (they fall out) and don't sound nearly as good as my Etys or Sennheisers, so I hope I'm just mis-reading this or something.

VoiceOver looks really neat. There's a guided tour and samples here:

http://www.apple.com/ipodshuffle/voiceover.html

 

[Tegeril]

My guess is you can still start music playback by toggling from off to shuffle/loop, but you lose the ability to control beyond that unless you use the Apple earbuds. I imagine they'll have isolating ones with the control button soon as well as third party phones. That doesn't mean I think it's a good idea, but the Shuffle did get wonderfully small.

 

[Kaido]

http://pcwizcomputer.com/weaksauce12/?p=970

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: Tegeril
My guess is you can still start music playback by toggling from off to shuffle/loop, but you lose the ability to control beyond that unless you use the Apple earbuds. I imagine they'll have isolating ones with the control button soon as well as third party phones. That doesn't mean I think it's a good idea, but the Shuffle did get wonderfully small.

I'm sure a lot of people will be re-wiring their headphones to work with this.

I have a Griffin SmartTalk adapter for my iPhone, I wonder if it would work with the new iPod Shuffle:

http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/smarttalk

 

[Kmax82]

Yea.. Apple definitely doesn't like you to use anything but their own design. And I guess that's now including their earbuds.

 

[aphex]

I'm gonna go out on a limb here, but I really don't like it at all compared to the old design. Voiceover seems sweet, but the old design just looks better and is more functional. Stupid decision to remove the controls.

Usually Apple follows the 99% rule as Kaido has brought up in the past, but this one is just over the top with its minimalism. Bad Apple.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: aphex
I'm gonna go out on a limb here, but I really don't like it compared to the old design. Voiceover seems sweet, but the old design just looks better and is more functional.

I think the new design looks great, but the old design is super functional...just clip it on, and the whole face is the click-wheel controller. They're starting to add features just because they need to sell more - the earbud controller is cool, but it's also a lot harder to use when you're out jogging because you have to slide your hand up the wire to find it, instead of just tapping the iPod clipped to your shirt. Plus, how am I supposed to go running with their earbuds? They fall out of my ears and don't fit right. I use wrap-around headphones for exercise, but am I supposed to give up being able to control the music? lol, Apple...

 

[aphex]

Originally posted by: Kaido

Originally posted by: aphex
I'm gonna go out on a limb here, but I really don't like it compared to the old design. Voiceover seems sweet, but the old design just looks better and is more functional.

I think the new design looks great, but the old design is super functional...just clip it on, and the whole face is the click-wheel controller. They're starting to add features just because they need to sell more - the earbud controller is cool, but it's also a lot harder to use when you're out jogging because you have to slide your hand up the wire to find it, instead of just tapping the iPod clipped to your shirt. Plus, how am I supposed to go running with their earbuds? They fall out of my ears and don't fit right. I use wrap-around headphones for exercise, but am I supposed to give up being able to control the music? lol, Apple...

Yea, this was a monumentally stupid decision. Nearly everyone I jog with uses the shuffle but none of them jog with the Apple buds, they just don't stay in and are uncomfortable. So much for using $10 sony replacements anymore.

Apple was way off the mark with this one, and I think the drop in sales will back us up on this.

Also, did they get rid of the old design completely? If so, they just nearly doubled the price of the shuffle.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: aphex
Yea, this was a monumentally stupid decision. Nearly everyone I jog with uses the shuffle but none of them jog with the Apple buds, they just don't stay in and are uncomfortable. So much for using $10 sony replacements anymore.

Apple was way off the mark with this one, and I think the drop in sales will back us up on this.

Also, did they get rid of the old design completely? If so, they just nearly doubled the price of the shuffle.

Nah, the older 1-gig models are available for only $49, plus they come in pretty colors 😀 Even more incentive to pick up the older model now, haha. The 2GB models are being discontinued, apparently:

http://www.businessweek.com/th...3/the_new_ipod_sh.html

 

[Kmax82]

Yea.. I like the idea of the Apple Earbuds, but they fall out of my ears too. I've never been a fan of the shuffle, and this doesn't change anything. I like the design, but I feel they could've at least put one button on there to act as the "Play/Pause/Skip/Prev/Voiceover" that they are getting out of the center button on the earbuds.

Oh well...

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: Kmax82
Yea.. I like the idea of the Apple Earbuds, but they fall out of my ears too. I've never been a fan of the shuffle, and this doesn't change anything. I like the design, but I feel they could've at least put one button on there to act as the "Play/Pause/Skip/Prev/Voiceover" that they are getting out of the center button on the earbuds.

Oh well...

Not only that, but read this quote from Business Week:

I have only one problem with this design, and it?s one that applies to any product that uses multi-modal buttons, that is, buttons that do more than one thing depending on the context. The center button on this remote has an awful lot to do. A single tap starts the music, or stops it if it is already playing. A double tap skips to the next track and a triple tap moves back to the previous track. If you hold the button down, you get the track announcement. And if you hold it down even longer until you hear a beep, it will announce the playlists on the shuffle. You then press it again to select a playlist. Use it for a while, and you?ll get used to it, but this sort of multi-modalism always makes for a confusing user experience.

:Q lol

 

[Kmax82]

Yea.. there should really be a separate "Voiceover" button. Mainly because you have to hold for a few secs in order to get the voice to speak. How annoying is that if you are wanting to do it while your running? While it would be nice to just have an extra button that when clicked once says the song title. When double clicked says the playlists and then you can click again while it's speaking to start listening to that playlist.

That just seems more straight forward. Apple is going with the less is more approach recently. This can be seen with the one button iPhone/iPodTouch, one button Unibody Macbooks.. and I think it'll only get worse.

Here's to hoping Apple doesn't go completely down the drain.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: Kmax82
Yea.. there should really be a separate "Voiceover" button. Mainly because you have to hold for a few secs in order to get the voice to speak. How annoying is that if you are wanting to do it while your running? While it would be nice to just have an extra button that when clicked once says the song title. When double clicked says the playlists and then you can click again while it's speaking to start listening to that playlist.

That just seems more straight forward. Apple is going with the less is more approach recently. This can be seen with the one button iPhone/iPodTouch, one button Unibody Macbooks.. and I think it'll only get worse.

Here's to hoping Apple doesn't go completely down the drain.

I posted an article today you might enjoy:

The Apple 99% Rule

😉

 

[Kaido]

Okay, on the flip side, we should have a variety of 3rd-party adapters on the market in short order. I am hoping for a short-cable solution or perhaps a clip-on adapter as was suggested by a friend (that would be cool & minimalistic!). I think being able to add Playlists is a real nice feature - I use a 2G Shuffle now and I usually just swap out the music before exercising, so being able to have multiple playlists would be nice for some variety. Voice navigation (so to speak) is a nice feature for a device without a screen. Also having 4 gigs is nice, especially with the multi-playlist feature. So it's not a total loss.

Plus, the reality of the situation is that we geeks here are the minority - nearly everyone I know with an iPod still uses the stock earbuds included with them. It's a fashion statement to have the white cord hanging from your ear 😉 So the market dictates this solution - most people use what comes with it, it sounds good enough, so why bother reducing profit by including an adapter cable, when you know 3rd-party manufacturers will do it for you?

 

[Redfraggle]

How would I control a shuffle now when it's hooked into my stereo or car? I love Apple, but dislike this approach. It's great how small it is and looks nice, but all they really did was transfer the weight/equipment elsewhere -- and I don't consider off the device to be a good choice.

 

[Kmax82]

Yes, the more I think about it, the more I believe that the Shuffle was a stupid design decision. I can get over small differences like the iPhone MMS, or the Macbook's lack of FW.. but this is a deal breaker for sure. Of course, I'm not their target demographic, nor will I ever be for that device.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: Kmax82
Yes, the more I think about it, the more I believe that the Shuffle was a stupid design decision. I can get over small differences like the iPhone MMS, or the Macbook's lack of FW.. but this is a deal breaker for sure. Of course, I'm not their target demographic, nor will I ever be for that device.

They're fallin' apart without Jobs, man! :Q

 

[Muddy Mudskipper]

26 pages of whinging on Macrumors already. 😀

Love the design but that control method is a tad convoluted, triple-click the play button to go back a track?

 

[jalaram]

Originally posted by: Muddy Mudskipper
26 pages of whinging on Macrumors already. 😀

Love the design but that control method is a tad convoluted, triple-click the play button to go back a track?

What happens if you quadruple-click it? 🙂

 

[Muddy Mudskipper]

Originally posted by: jalaram

Originally posted by: Muddy Mudskipper
26 pages of whinging on Macrumors already. 😀

Love the design but that control method is a tad convoluted, triple-click the play button to go back a track?

What happens if you quadruple-click it? 🙂

It's like crossing the streams in Ghostbusters.

 

[aphex]

Originally posted by: Muddy Mudskipper

Originally posted by: jalaram

Originally posted by: Muddy Mudskipper
26 pages of whinging on Macrumors already. 😀

Love the design but that control method is a tad convoluted, triple-click the play button to go back a track?

What happens if you quadruple-click it? 🙂

It's like crossing the streams in Ghostbusters.

lol 🙂

 

[mugs]

Not that I'd ever buy a shuffle, but how frequently do you people change songs? I just pick a playlist I want to listen to and let it go - if I didn't like a song, it wouldn't be on the playlist. I suspect they'll release a little dongle with the controls on it that you can plug any headphones into.

 

[jpeyton]

Originally posted by: mugs
I suspect they'll release a little dongle with the controls on it that you can plug any headphones into.

That's bleeding-edge tech right there. For a mere $19.99, Apple will let you use any pair of headphones with your new 3G iPod Shuffle. When will other DAP manufacturers come out with this cool new technology?

Check out these other must-have features:

1) It now takes 2-3 times as many button presses to FF or RW.

2) The controls have been moved to the headphone cord, which not only means you have to use Apple's shitty stock earbuds, but also renders the device useless if you lose/damage your headphones.

3) The controls are now even smaller. The old Shuffle had a control wheel the size of a quarter; the buttons on this are the size of a Tic-Tac, perfect if you have the hands of a small child.

4) The new Shuffle now allows you to interrupt your listening experience with a creepy robotic voice-over. Awesome!

5) 2 hours less battery life.

 

[sactoking]

So, when is Apple going to get sued for monopolistic mp3 player practices like Microsoft? I mean, isn't putting the controls on the branded earbuds and forcing you to use them or an Apple-supplied (or licensed) adapter akin to integrating IE into Windows?

 

[TallBill]

Originally posted by: sactoking
So, when is Apple going to get sued for monopolistic mp3 player practices like Microsoft? I mean, isn't putting the controls on the branded earbuds and forcing you to use them or an Apple-supplied (or licensed) adapter akin to integrating IE into Windows?

No, not even close.