iPod Controls I's Like to see on Shuffle

[needthephone]

Iv'e just got my new 1gig shuffle and I love it. Its robust and looks indistructable, the clip is just perfect when I'm running.

What I would like to see is a skip to say a next artist. If you don't play in shuffle mode you can fast forward to the next track and all the artists are in alphabetical order. So its easy enough to get to where you want by a few presses of the FFWD button.

But what would be good was if say you held the FFWD button down for a few seconds it skipped to the next artist. So you could go from Abba (don't have any but its an example) to the beatles at the press of a button without having to skip through every track.

Also if you could add breaks in itunes yourself it would be good so you could set points to skip to.

Surely this could be achieved with a software update?

 

[needthephone]

Sorry to reply to my own post but I think the shuffle could be made almost as 'navigable' as an ipod with a fragile, expensive screen. If you used a scroll wheel to cycle through artists, there could be an audible aplphabetical feedback prompt as you cycle through the playlist ie A, B, C and then even sub menus with audible artist prompts and then even song titles (but that may be going too far) All the info is there - just need a voice to read out all the text, should be easy enough. I remember reading about an apple patent with something like this so hopefully this is how they are thinking.

I have a feeling that these ultra simple shuffle like players will get an increasing market share as the other end will be taken by the music phones (including apples new one). Perhaps the Nano and high end ipods will be squeezed out??

(But my other theory is that people LOVE their music so much and may want to keep it seperate from the phone.)

Why carry around two bulky, fragile items when one will do. I would rather have a phone and something as tough, small and convenient as a shuffle. Adding extra navigation controls rather than random and straight play should be the next trick. Just with a software update they could add skip through artists at no cost.

 

[emptyCup]

Simplicity which needs no attention is the key to the Shuffle. Load it with the music you want, or autoload it from a playlist of your choice, and forget it. Consider it a radio station that plays only the music you like and has no commercials. Many people use a Shuffle precisely because they are doing something, whether sports or exercise to study, which requires their attention. They do not want to be distracted by the need to fiddle with a music player. Give it some time. You will come to appreciate the elegant simplicity of the Shuffle.

 

[pianoman]

i agree with emptyCup. the shuffle is designed to be simple - your ideas, needthephone, make it too complex. with all these options to remember, it clutters the mind and makes using the device a chore instead of a joy.

if you want the ability to shift between artists, get a nano - they're small enough but have the ability to do what you want, and more.

 

[eXan]

The two things Shuffle lacks are:

1) Battery indicator eek: )
2) Hold Switch

I thought the Suffle had those until I saw one in person...

 

[Pathetique]

The two things Shuffle lacks are:

1) Battery indicator eek: )
2) Hold Switch

I thought the Suffle had those until I saw one in person...

This is incorrect. The shuffle has a small light that acts as a battery indicator. Green is full, yellow is mid range, and red is almost dead. And while there is no hold switch it does have an on/off option, but i see where you're coming from there.

 

[eXan]

This is incorrect. The shuffle has a small light that acts as a battery indicator. Green is full, yellow is mid range, and red is almost dead. And while there is no hold switch it does have an on/off option, but i see where you're coming from there.

Oh is it a batt. indicator? Whew, I thought it was there to signify that the iPod is ON.

Again, I do not own the Shuffle, just played with my dad's new one!

 

[needthephone]

I hear what you say about wanting the shuffle to be simple. I agree its nice just to set it on random and see what it comes up with. But...

It does have a straight play option and I would like the choice of being able to play say an album straight off. You can quite easily FFWD through each track but it could take a few hundread clicks to get there.

The FFWD by artist option should be very easy, just hold the FFWD down a bit longer or press it twice quickly (or you could press it three, four times to go faster through the playlist but that may be getting silly!). There are so many ways without a screen to achieve excellent playlist navigation I reckon. Why not provide the option if it doesn't cost anything??