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Apple Releases Smaller 4GB iPod Shuffle in Black and Silver

Adore the new shuffle, but don't agree with it keeping the same price.

It's £60 in the UK. If Apple had let that drop to £35-£40, I think it'd be a massive hit. It might have been seen as a kind of accessory and definitely wouldn't have been compared to any other iPod. £60 is just too much.

That said, it is 4Gb. Apple could realistically lower it to 2Gb and drop the price to £40.
 
jackfrost123 said:
What's with the negative voting boys and gals, too much bad heat going around these days...:rolleyes:
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Because you have to use their headphones, you can't plug it into a hifi or amp, it oddly doesn't work with the iPod Shuffle 2G dock, you can't skip through songs/podcasts/books.
And it's not that big an improvement of the 2G. Infact if you want buttons on the device then it's a huge step back offering only VoiceOver and 4gb in place of useable buttons.

io_burn said:
I've spent the winter working on a respectable 5K time at the gym and never had a problem with the included iPhone headphones. :confused:
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Same here. I've taken my iPod Shuffle hiking, climbing, running and at the gym and its never been a problem for me.
 
4g

W. T. F.? Couldn't wait for September? Just when you thought they couldn't get it ANY smaller. What the hell will they do to it next time? Can't remove buttons. Sheesh. Hey, it looks great!
 
AAPLaday said:
Like i said i find a nano overkill for running. And i dont require any built in nike kit at all. Just a basic player and some earphones...
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I was referring to what the products were designed for. The Nano is designed for the Runner.

Maybe you should buy a Zune.
 
I might have bought one of these but I don't see how it could be used with my after market higher quality headphone. Once you get used to using good ones it is hard to go back to Apple's The sound is just so much better even with $20 Sony earbuds than with the Apple stock ones. I think I'd miss the built-in clip on the current shuffle too.
 
smiddlehurst said:
Oh god, I really hate people who defend stupid, idiotic ideas just out of loyalty to a company....



Except that I can't use it. No, that's not a pointless complaint or whining for the sake of it, I physically can't use it as the Apple headphones won't stay in my ears.
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Then buy the old one NOW!!!
Jeez... I have never heard such whining, even on this forum.
This will either sell or it won't. If it does, then Apple was right. If it doesn't they'll revert... they come out with new models every 6 months.
Stop acting like this is starvation in Darfur for god's sake.
 
Ade-iMac-177 said:
All these points have probably be already made, but i want to complain a bit too.

1) the controls are on the earbuds! this means that the machine is not useable with speakers and if the ear-buds break (which i find happens quite a bit with apple headphones you have to buy another set to use it and those are not cheap!)

2) the cable that comes with it is 45mm long!!! (WHY?!?!?!) you have to riddle with the back of an iMac or Mac mini to plug the iPod in because the lead isn't long enough to stretch round to the front and the ipod will be hanging a bit if you use an iMac!) another one at 1 metre is available for £15!!!!! extra though.

3) there is nothing on the front now. they could of at least put an apple of something on the front. it's just blank and boring.

4) the colours available were one of the nicest things about the old shuffle - i would like it to be in Blue again (to be fair, apple may bring colours very soon)

5) the voice over feature is the new iPod Nano 'shake to change song' function... a pointless gimmick - at least you can turn it off though.

6) the on-off and shuffle-order switches are now one thing and three click switches are never good for usability as they are often difficult to get into the middle, especially when new and stiff.

7) from the small picture it looks like the actual packaging for the new Shuffle is larger than the old one - lets hope it isn't. Apple keeps banging on about smaller packaging and i don't want to see them being accuses of hypocrisy.

That will do - i know i am whinging and being picky but i don't think it is a very good design. Apple could have done better. But i'm sure those who do by it will enjoy it. I still prefer my old shuffle better though
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1) I'm sure that someone is already working on this. And if you buy the shuffle and it's within the warranty period you get the headphones replaced for nothing.

2) Maybe I'm misjudging length but that's long enough for me. Use the keyboard USB port if you need to.

3) Agree with you on this one.

4) Colors are nice but sometimes they can be too much.

5) Voiceover should be nice - we'll see how it goes.

6) 1G iPod shuffle had all the controls in one slider and it worked fine. I loved it.

7) Can't debate this one - haven't seen the packaging.
 
trip1ex said:
I like the ability to switch playlists. I don't think the previous shuffle had that or did it?
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It's the first iPod to actually do no-look playlist switching. My 2003 Panasonic MP3 CD player did this :eek:. Needless to say a very welcome feature.
 
brygruver said:
I was referring to what the products were designed for. The Nano is designed for the Runner.

Maybe you should buy a Zune.
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Then who is the shuffle designed for? It seems only recently the nano has been championed as a runners tool with the nike kit but then so has the touch.
 
I think people complaining about the earphones are missing the fact *the* USP is that there are new controls on the cord.

So you can't use your own earphones. So in effect you want the iPod to be just like it was. So just buy a 2G.

This reminds me of the Poochy Show episode on The Simpsons: "So you want a realistic down-to-earth show that's completely off the wall and swarming with magic robots?"
 
Warbrain said:
I think they're just whining because they can. Some of them may not be the target audience for an iPod shuffle yet they feel the need to complain.
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What about people who are not in the target audience, yet feel they need to defend?

All of the criticism is GOOD, because (it is quite evident) that Apple does read these boards.
 
joeshell383 said:
All of the criticism is GOOD, because (it is quite evident) that Apple does read these boards.
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I strongly disagree with that idea.

I'm sure that, sometimes, the opinions of this board match the opinions of the people Apple does research. So yeah, it might SEEM that way.

But if I were Apple I would see no benefit to paying attention to places like this.
 
Mark Booth said:
Jesus, what a bunch of whiners! If the earbuds supplied with the new Shuffle don't suit your needs, then buy a freakin' Nano instead. It's not exactly a monstrously large device! :rolleyes:

Also,

A) It will only be a short amount of time before someone (maybe even Apple) releases an adapter cord with proper controls to go between the newest Shuffle and any headphones you like.

B) The VAST majority of folks I see using iPods are using the original earbuds that came with the thing. Apple doesn't have to worry one whit about you bunch of whiners.

Mark
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I'm with you - I use my modded Mini when I go out bike riding, but frankly my "Bike, Bike, Bike" playlist is so long, all I ever want to do is change the volume or skip a song now and then. BUT, the Mini is stuffed in my front bike pouch, and leaning around to control it is awkward.

I actually like the direction the Shuffle is going - it's hella small and light, I could fit it anywhere on me or my bike, it's solid state (like the Nano or my modded Mini) and don't need access to the actual device to change songs or adjust the volume.

This will become very interesting to me when it hits 8GB, and my bet is that it will take less than 6 months for 3rd party adapters to hit the market for using your own headphones.

Someone also commented earlier that the Nike + iPod won't work with the Shuffle, but how exactly would you use it without a screen? The Shuffle has never had a screen, and it's market is the "set it and forget it" folks like me when I'm doing long bike rides or other activities when I don't want to be thinking about controlling my iPod.
 
GQB said:
I have to believe that previous gen shuffles are available. Perhaps you should find one for her in advance and she can pay you when she's finished saving?
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They are. I just think that Apple is going down the wrong path with proprietary earbuds.

I am trying to teach my daughter a lesson in patience and responsibility. The idea of saving until you can purchase without going to dad is what I am trying to teach. I also want her to have the joy and anticipation of waiting for a UPS delivery and opening the box for herself. Not a reason to complain about the change, but the earbuds are. I find it silly to have to buy another set of earbuds since we already have some that work for her smaller ears.

I will likely order a refurbished second gen for her, but if that gets lost or damaged, I think the additional expense of new headphones is shortsighted on Apple's part.

We all have our different opinions on this matter.
 
Tr0ll's wet dream comes true.

Lots of people with low observational capabilities are complaining that it has no buttons.
The fact is that instead of buttons on the shuffle itself, the buttons are now on the headset.

The headset uses standard 4 pin connector. 4 pin connector is not proprietary. There are third party accessories that work with it. I.e. retain controller function while allowing you to use your own headphones.

However ipod nano and the old shuffle are available, so no one is preventing you from getting those instead of the new shuffle.
 
where's the 2GB then?

Warbrain said:
All this whining while the 2G iPod shuffle is still available.
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To everyone whining about the whiners and saying how the 2nd gen shuffle is still available... Tell me, where did that 2GB model go??? (Or have these been absent from the :apple:store for awhile now, and I just didn't notice?). Seems like it should be worth noting that the 2GB model is apparently discontinued. I'm not liking that.

Yeah, I know there are other stores besides store.apple.com, but where else can I get free engraving? (Maybe I'm just nuts, but I dig the free engraving).
 
joeshell383 said:
What about people who are not in the target audience, yet feel they need to defend?

All of the criticism is GOOD, because (it is quite evident) that Apple does read these boards.
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But the whiners seem to think THEY are the only ones that thought of the negatives. As if the negatives never occurred to Apple.

Trust me... Apple knows full well that 3rd party headphones don't (yet) work with the new Shuffle. And trust me... someone will shortly be coming along with an adapter cable that resolves this issue.

For me, the sooner, the better. Then we can get around to reading the whiners complain about the price of the adapter cable! :rolleyes:

Mark
 
emaja said:
They are. I just think that Apple is going down the wrong path with proprietary earbuds.
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If other companies are making compatible headphones, how is that proprietary?

What you mean to say is that is doesn't work with "every headphone on the planet."

Ok, well, no. It doesn't. I don't hold the Shuffle to that high of a standard, though.
 
Small White Car said:
I strongly disagree with that idea.

I'm sure that, sometimes, the opinions of this board match the opinions of the people Apple does research. So yeah, it might SEEM that way.

But if I were Apple I would see no benefit to paying attention to places like this.
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It's not exactly representative of the general public view in here is it? This thread proves that.
 
tobyw7 said:
If you paid £100 for a pair of in-ear headphones why are you using a Shuffle?! I think some people have their priorities mixed up!
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Not at all mate, as long as the device is powerful enough to drive the headphones, it does not matter if it is a shuffle or a Ipod. MP3 Players are cheap, headphones on the other hand go go into £300-£400, you pay for what you get. Using a pair of £100 headphones in a shuffle is perfectly normal.

The great thing with a pair of £100 headphones is that you can use them in any device.
 
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