Because they don't care or know how great music is when it's coming from actually "good" headphones? (Hell, mine cost 44 bucks, while Apple earbud cost something like 30$, while my cans sounds MILES better!)
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Apple Releases Smaller 4GB iPod Shuffle in Black and Silver
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Because they don't care or know how great music is when it's coming from actually "good" headphones? (Hell, mine cost 44 bucks, while Apple earbud cost something like 30$, while my cans sounds MILES better!)
I think you have it right there. Sure some will notice its not amazing, but most people just want to hear the music and couldnt care less if they get the highest highs or lowest lows.
Question is what to get? Spend $100 on a nice set of buds that may not fit in my ears??
Lot of opinions flowing around here... thought I'd give my take on it.
On colors:
The Shuffle line now matches the iPod Classic line. Apple has been using more and more anodized aluminum and black gloss in their product lines, so it makes sense here. Maybe more colors later, maybe not.
On No Buttons:
I'll admit, it's a ballsy move by Apple. Users are forced to use the included headphones or buy the eventual adapter for the likely price of $29. I don't find this move all that offensive by Apple, namely because of the idea behind the shuffle: lose a bit of control for added convenience in carrying and using while moving. I think the complaint of earbuds falling out while exercising is legitimate, and perhaps they could have come up with a headband of some sort to accommodate for this. But the fact is, the majority of iPod users continue to use the included headphones at the gym, at least from my observations. Those of you who wish to use your own headphones: the Shuffle is not made for you. It is for a broader, less finicky audience. There are still Nanos, Classics, Touches, and older Shuffles for your purchasing dollar. And if that doesn't satisfy you, then there's the eventual adapter. To expect a corporation to submit to your laundry list of needs with every single one of their products is asinine. For people with kids who wanted to buy one, well, I didn't have an iPod as a kid. Why do yours need one? And if they're capable of saving $79, they are certainly capable of saving $149 for a Nano; it's simply a matter of having patience, and maybe that'd be good for 'em anyway.
On size and Naming conventions:
Yeah it's small, but that doesn't mean it needs a new name. The Shuffle earned quite a following after debuting as the $99 iPod; it may not have the same significance now at $79 but the idea and name remain.
On colors:
The Shuffle line now matches the iPod Classic line. Apple has been using more and more anodized aluminum and black gloss in their product lines, so it makes sense here. Maybe more colors later, maybe not.
On No Buttons:
I'll admit, it's a ballsy move by Apple. Users are forced to use the included headphones or buy the eventual adapter for the likely price of $29. I don't find this move all that offensive by Apple, namely because of the idea behind the shuffle: lose a bit of control for added convenience in carrying and using while moving. I think the complaint of earbuds falling out while exercising is legitimate, and perhaps they could have come up with a headband of some sort to accommodate for this. But the fact is, the majority of iPod users continue to use the included headphones at the gym, at least from my observations. Those of you who wish to use your own headphones: the Shuffle is not made for you. It is for a broader, less finicky audience. There are still Nanos, Classics, Touches, and older Shuffles for your purchasing dollar. And if that doesn't satisfy you, then there's the eventual adapter. To expect a corporation to submit to your laundry list of needs with every single one of their products is asinine. For people with kids who wanted to buy one, well, I didn't have an iPod as a kid. Why do yours need one? And if they're capable of saving $79, they are certainly capable of saving $149 for a Nano; it's simply a matter of having patience, and maybe that'd be good for 'em anyway.
On size and Naming conventions:
Yeah it's small, but that doesn't mean it needs a new name. The Shuffle earned quite a following after debuting as the $99 iPod; it may not have the same significance now at $79 but the idea and name remain.
I had one and it was awesome short of the ID3 tag issues I had. That's the reason I returned it.Yeah I'm sure most people will be buying Sansa's over iPods.
Not sure if it is high end, but my dad's Sansa Fuze works perfectly on my iBook G4.
Anyway, gotta agree Apple screwed up here. Hmm, they seem to be doing that a lot lately.
I don't know many people who actually use the apple earbuds. I guess there are more out there than I thought. I don't understand why though. It's like listening to music through yarn and a tin can, IMHO. Oh well. At least the older models will be cheaper now.
Also, the PC voice sounds much better than the mac voice... but honestly, I think apple is being premature with the voice over technology. It is still awful to listen to. I wonder how it says chumbawumba?
edit: just checked something like choobaoomba badly intoned.
Also, the PC voice sounds much better than the mac voice... but honestly, I think apple is being premature with the voice over technology. It is still awful to listen to. I wonder how it says chumbawumba?
edit: just checked something like choobaoomba badly intoned.
WHAT?!
The voice over is the OS's built in text to speech, which is leaps and bounds better in OSX than windows.
People seem to have a vendetta against Apple lately. I think its awesome, I've ordered a black one.
Hmm...they kinda look like something Bang&Olufsen would make. (very simplistic in appearance, functional, but proprietary)
I understand where people are coming from when they are mad about he loss of buttons. I like the idea of controling my iPod from the headphones. The new ones are not made for people to just sit around and listen to. They have been out for a day. I'm sure that apple will allow companies to make shuffle controling headphones just like you can control an iPod with an ihome. Also I forgot to mention when I am running and get a call on my iPhone I just pinch the cord. That is much easier than turning it on it's armband and sliding the slider to answer. They just applied this concept to changing songs. I hope that they enable headphone control on the other lines. I do not want them to replace things such as the click wheel with headphones though because the other iPods have a different use. It would be nice for it to be ADDED functionality though.
True. I agree with you there. I only use my shuffle for one purpose - at the gym. I have an ipod touch if I want to carry it around with me. I haven't got my shuffle yet but it looks like it will be a better fit for the gym than the current one now. I'm happy with the Apple buds as well
It would seem to me (a runner) that it's easier to grab and manipulate a control device on a free-swinging cord than to operate controls on a device clipped to (any fixed part of) your body. The control-on-a-cord can be operated while swinging freely with your hand/arm movements as you run or work out; that's not true for the controls on a clipped-on device.
Of course, i guess those who still don't like it will refer to it as "the dope on a rope". I prefer to think of it as "'dope' on a rope" in the complimentary sense of the word.
Remember the first generation shuffle? You could plug it directly into the computer like a thumb drive. I don't know why they abandoned that idea. This was especially annoying with the ridiculous dock you had to use for the second generation. Seems like this new one is the perfect size and shape to bring the thumb drive feature back.
I was surprised none of the apple blogs i read regularly reported on his column a few days ago, which was pretty critical of the new Safari. Or did i overlook something?
Jobs is definitely not home
This will rank in the rhelm of what were they thinking. Losing controls on device is deal killer. No ability to use headsets other than Apple's. Can't believe that Jobs went for this. Get ready for a bunch of people who will be raising their hands to their face over and over again to fondle their headset controls.
Paul
Blog:
http://www.appledesire.com
This will rank in the rhelm of what were they thinking. Losing controls on device is deal killer. No ability to use headsets other than Apple's. Can't believe that Jobs went for this. Get ready for a bunch of people who will be raising their hands to their face over and over again to fondle their headset controls.
Paul
Blog:
http://www.appledesire.com
Dont spam here.
also, why do so many people keep spreading the lie that you will only be able to use apples headphones? Give it a freakin month then tell me that.
1.7cm were the width dimensions given I believe, so not too small for USB. I'm not sure about the thickness though.
Here is a mockup of a USB included shuffle by another forum member here sundayx. You can view more "wishful thinking" in the mockup thread here.
Attachments
The measurement are 0.7"x0.3". A USB port is ~0.5" x 0.2". Plenty of room. Anyhow, would the fraction of an inch needed to make it fit been noticable, especially since it would still be smaller than the last one?
I guess this doesn't bother that many people, but I just hate having to carry around extra chords and adapters with me when I travel. And don't forget it in the hotel room when you leave--those replacement cables are like $20 each!
Dont forget that usb connections arent just the physical plug....
the rest of your post is valid tho.
LOL, they screwed up because they didn't make what you want, what else is new from the Mac community.
Yeah, it's too bad they dropped the idea of a Shuffle that doubles up as a thumb drive - using a cable to plug it in is a no-go for me, so I'll stick with my 1st gen Shuffle.
It's too bad, because I love the idea of getting rid of the buttons (think about it, this is now basically nothing but a "smart" headphone with a tiny thingy hanging off of it). And most importantly, they now have the two features that I wanted the most on my 1st gen Shuffle:
1- support for playlists and
2- support for FLAC!
Is it wishful thinking that they could release a firmware update for the 1st gen Shuffle with the above features? Almost certainly.
It's too bad, because I love the idea of getting rid of the buttons (think about it, this is now basically nothing but a "smart" headphone with a tiny thingy hanging off of it). And most importantly, they now have the two features that I wanted the most on my 1st gen Shuffle:
1- support for playlists and
2- support for FLAC!
Is it wishful thinking that they could release a firmware update for the 1st gen Shuffle with the above features? Almost certainly.