1G iPod shuffle On the Way Out?

[xsnightclub]

Pricepoint is important

Apple needs to keep these low end pricepoints around to keep up marketshare in the low end range.

It isn't really necessary to increase the capacity of the shuffle since its purpose in the line up is for on the go type of activities that you would create limited playlists for, hence no screen necessary.

I think we will most likely see black, or even multiple colors.

And if Apple is getting the cost reductions on flash that has been reported, maybe the shuffle will get a display and still keep the pricepoints where they are.

A nice adjustment to the shuffle line would be:
$79 512 shuffle, no changes only in classic white.
$149 1G shuffle, black or white, limited display built in. (OLED type display likely)

this would make sense to phase out the $129 1g current model, and let that pricepoint fade away from memory.

 

[EricNau]

Apple is going to bump the Nano up to 4 & 6 GB models (for the same prices), and the Shuffle is going to get a bump to 1 & 2 GB models. The Shuffle will also be a little smaller I think. And it will definitely come in Black and White.

And the Shuffles will NOT have a screen.

 

[EricNau]

...
And if Apple is getting the cost reductions on flash that has been reported, maybe the shuffle will get a display and still keep the pricepoints where they are.
...

Will never happen.

 

[xsnightclub]

Will never happen.

Never say never.
http://www.alwayson-network.com/comments.php?id=11002_0_1_0_C
Steve Jobs explains why trying to add video to the iPod would not make customers happy

I did not mean a display like a nanos.

maybe an OLED

 

[2nyRiggz]

Apple is going to bump the Nano up to 4 & 6 GB models (for the same prices), and the Shuffle is going to get a bump to 1 & 2 GB models. The Shuffle will also be a little smaller I think. And it will definitely come in Black and White.

thats what i am thinking...the shuffle is still a hot item to only have one size. i think they will make them smaller, different colors and might be able to hold playlist.


Bless

 

[asherman13]

Wow. Some keynote.

and i can't wait to be there to see it

well, ok, not really. but almost. as a member of my school's newspaper, i tried to get press passes, as was possible for my friends in previous years, but for some reason apple and img (i think) tightened the restrictions this year, so all i got was a free exhibit hall pass. its still worth it; i'm going on the 10th!

 

[b0x]

That's true.

Personally, I think we won't see the iBook released until a few months after MWSF. The dual-core (read PowerBook) Yonahs are coming first, and the Mac mini doesn't have to be sent out right away. If Apple ships a stunningly thin laptop with a dual-core chip and a built-in iSight, it will instantly convert those PowerPC fanboys to Intel and make everyone very excited indeed. The iBook will be more powerful than the current one, but not jaw-droppingly so.

In addition, there is nothing to substantiate the iPod boombox rumor, and the report was vague.

You people are starting to **** me. Apple has always said consumer first to intel and then the pro line. Powerbooks will get bumped when the right processor comes around. Let's get back on topic and discuss the shuffle!

 

[iMeowbot]

I really believe that the Shuffle was what it was only to meet a certain price point. If the next generation can be a real iPod at the same prices instead of a stripped-down Rio, I think they'd be all over that.

 

[FaasNat]

The appeal of the shuffle?

I never saw the appeal of the iPod Shuffle. I would miss the use of the LCD. I'm still waiting for the iPod to include a FM tuner so I can listen to the TVs at the gym.

 

[b0x]

The shuffle is a great multiuse product. It's nearly the perfect footprint for those of us who need a usb stick and also want a music player. I'm looking forward to a slightly redesigned shuffle, with a bigger storeage capacity and no screen, so that I can use it in the classroom for ppt presentations and other stuff like that!

 

[Wonder Boy]

as long as it doesnt have a screen ill get one. exercising with my nano is just too risky.

 

[Chundles]

You people are starting to **** me. Apple has always said consumer first to intel and then the pro line. Powerbooks will get bumped when the right processor comes around. Let's get back on topic and discuss the shuffle!

NO THEY DIDN'T.

Apple has never said anything about the changeover timetable, only that it would be done by mid-2007. So don't come on here sprouting incorrect statements and saying that people s*it you.

How about you go get a transcript of the WWDC 05 keynote and have a read. we'll talk about the shuffle and won't miss you while you're gone.

 

[xsnightclub]

as long as it doesnt have a screen ill get one. exercising with my nano is just too risky.

Screen similar to these sony's wouldn't have the scratch factor of the nano

 

[~Shard~]

I'll guess a 1GB shuffle at the 512 MB's current price point, or a cheaper 512 MB shuffle and no 1 GB offerings at all, making a more definitive gap between the shuffles and the nanos. If the shuffle went to 2 GB, this may cannibalize sales for the nano... Regardless, I'm sure Apple has thought things through very carefully and whatever they announce at MWSF with respect to this issue will be good.

 

[Wonder Boy]

Screen similar to these sony's wouldn't have the scratch factor of the nano

i played with one of these the othe day. navigatio is a pain and they are heavy. if they have a screen ill just find and "old" shuffle somewhere else.

 

[sushi]

The shuffle is a great multiuse product. It's nearly the perfect footprint for those of us who need a usb stick and also want a music player. I'm looking forward to a slightly redesigned shuffle, with a bigger storeage capacity and no screen, so that I can use it in the classroom for ppt presentations and other stuff like that!

Exactly!

The Shuffle is so handy because you can connect it to a computer directly without carrying a separate cable. A slightly smaller model in 1GB and 2GB versions at the same price points would be sweet.

As for a display, it is really not needed.

However, I would welcome a simple playlist indicator of some sort so that I could load playlists.

Sushi

 

[DMann]

New Shuffle

Hmm... they can't really make the new model 2GB as then it'd be the same as the nano, unless they plan on upgrading the nano too, but so soon ?

That sounds more plausible.

Shuffle starting at 2G up to 4G, new features
Nano starting at 4G, video playback possibilities.
Imagine a Nano-phone in the works..........

 

[jmufellow]

i think they will make them smaller, different colors and might be able to hold playlist.

That's an ambiguous comment. The shuffles can hold a playlist and play it in order. Sorry if I got you wrong.

A new form that is smaller so it would fit in usb ports alongside other devices would be a welcome improvement on the shuffle. Maybe make the cap bigger to facilitate a longer, thinner "neck" where it plugs into the usb port.

 

[dongmin]

The Shuffle is so handy because you can connect it to a computer directly without carrying a separate cable. A slightly smaller model in 1GB and 2GB versions at the same price points would be sweet.

I was thinking of getting a shuffle to double as a flash drive but then i read reports that the transfer speed on those things was sloooow. so i got a cruzer instead. if they upped the speed to real USB 2.0 standards, i'd gladly fork over the 99 clams for a 1 gig shuffle.

 

[jmufellow]

I was thinking of getting a shuffle to double as a flash drive but then i read reports that the transfer speed on those things was sloooow. so i got a cruzer instead. if they upped the speed to real USB 2.0 standards, i'd gladly fork over the 99 clams for a 1 gig shuffle.

That's why they should've offered a firewire shuffle!

 

[2nyRiggz]

That's an ambiguous comment. The shuffles can hold a playlist and play it in order. Sorry if I got you wrong.

A new form that is smaller so it would fit in usb ports alongside other devices would be a welcome improvement on the shuffle. Maybe make the cap bigger to facilitate a longer, thinner "neck" where it plugs into the usb port.

multiple playlist i mean...if they bump up the gigs. i think they will change the form cuz there was much complaints about the shuffle blocking the other usb port..

Bless

 

[Chundles]

I was thinking of getting a shuffle to double as a flash drive but then i read reports that the transfer speed on those things was sloooow. so i got a cruzer instead. if they upped the speed to real USB 2.0 standards, i'd gladly fork over the 99 clams for a 1 gig shuffle.

The problem lies not in the USB specs, but in the write speed of the NAND flash memory they are using. They need to get the same sort of NAND memory the nano uses so that the transfer speeds can be much faster.

 

[bellis1]

Sony shuffle

I received one of the small sony players for x-mas but the navigation is kind of clunky. The iPod does much better because the navigation is so easy with the click wheel which can't be fit onto a shuffle. But I wouldn't mind a small screen and ability to put on playlists. They also need to redesign the on/off/shuffle switch which is a great entry point for moisture and previously broke on the shuffle that I owned.

 

[Chundles]

That's why they should've offered a firewire shuffle!

Like I said, Firewire, USB, wouldn't matter. The write speed of the flash memory is where the bottleneck is in transfer speed. The nano has a much faster write speed and as such transfers music and data at roughly the same speed as the old hard drives.

 

[boombashi]

I was thinking of getting a shuffle to double as a flash drive but then i read reports that the transfer speed on those things was sloooow. so i got a cruzer instead. if they upped the speed to real USB 2.0 standards, i'd gladly fork over the 99 clams for a 1 gig shuffle.

I have a cruiser mini, cruser micro old style (very slow) and new style, and a 1GB shuffle - the shuffle is on par with Flash Drives - about 2MB/sec or so. Slow compared to a 7200RPM Firewire Drive maybe.

[Edit] I just tested the two - the NEW cruiser that I have IS about 25% faster - but those things have changed a lot in the past year since the shuffle came out, my old cruzer is about the same speed as the shuffle - I'm sure the new Shuffle will have faster write speeds.