iPod Shuffle Released

[Platform]

I like it
Flash so no interfearance if you are doing any activty that has a lot of movment
1GB makes a great file transfer key

 

[painimies]

'Though the silhouette thing is slowly getting tired, the Shuffle TV ad (as shown in the keynote) was great, IMO. Really nailed the concept and the target audience.
Good job. Getting one to accompany my mini and my 20gigger.

The reactions here are surprisingly positive, considering that the thing was leaked, and thorougly disliked just couple of days prior.

 

[telecomm]

It's just about perfect for me (I've ordered the 1GB version), and the lack of a screen doesn't bother me at all.

There is, however, one complaint. I just noticed that I'm going to have to buy the dock or something at some point, since if you look at the pictures on the iPod Shuffle page, you'll notice that the Shuffle is so wide it blocks the two adjacent ports on a laptop.

That means I won't be able to charge it while using my USB mouse.

 

[24C]

...There is, however, one complaint. I just noticed that I'm going to have to buy the dock or something at some point, since if you look at the pictures on the iPod Shuffle page, you'll notice that the Shuffle is so wide it blocks the two adjacent ports on a laptop.

That means I won't be able to charge it while using my USB mouse.

Good point, didn't notice that, but I'll have to unplug the USB hub or buy an USB extender or dock for the laptop, or the old iMacs!
Fits in the Cube keyboard and screen, but I bet I'll get a power overload warning.
Sh*t, didn't realise that £99 1 Gb thumb drive mean't I'd have to buy a £339 Mac mini powered hub

 

[ZombieChef]

Sweet!

I will definately be buying one, to compliment/replace my mini, of these but I have a question. On the Apple Store website it says 1 week shipping for the iPod Shuffle itself but 4-6 weeks for the sports case. (Which I also want to buy.) Does this mean that the sports case isn't going to be released for a month or so?

 

[iGary]

I want a screen, more storage, oh, and a dock, and colors...


And I still want it to be $99

Get real "naysayers."

This will not in anyway stop me from buying an iPod photo.


I can see this as being a commuter, excercise, activity-type prooduct (which is why I bought it). I'm not oing to stop using my pod.

Can't wait to get mine.

 

[schatten]

Who needs a screen, anyway?

Seriously, I remember back in the day when the only portable music option was the Sony Walkman. It played Cassette Tapes (for those of you old enough to remember those) and had no screen.

Then the portable CD player came out, it had a screen which would show a track number & battery life, nothing else; a useless screen.

So what's the big deal? so there's no screen. Gosh, you might actually have to know what song is playing by remembering what songs you loaded onto your iPod & recognizing the music.

Stop whining about the lack of screen, it's not a necessary component of a portable music player. Some people are so spoiled!

Now, a screenless portable DVD player, that would be something to whine about!

 

[jhomayne]

There is, however, one complaint. I just noticed that I'm going to have to buy the dock or something at some point, since if you look at the pictures on the iPod Shuffle page, you'll notice that the Shuffle is so wide it blocks the two adjacent ports on a laptop.

i don't think it does.

or even if it does, you can easily just use a usb hub. i got a 4-port, bus-powered one for FREE from a drug company.

 

[ebunton]

Shuffling music is great.

But no screen??

The controls are simple but they are a step backwards.

I don't think that people expect this sort of low-tech from Apple.

I'm not convinced.

 

[telecomm]

The firewire port is clearly blocked, and it doesn't look like much would fit in the remaining USB port either.

Of course there are workarounds, (I've got a USB cable extender that came with my mouse that I'd be able to use, but unfortunately I don't have it with me right now), but I'd rather not have to deal with extra cables, possibly a USB hub, whatever. I've got a laptop, I don't want to have to carry around a lot of extras when travelling, etc.

 

[ifjake]

this is right up my alley. i posted this a day or two before yesterday.

actually, most of the time in iTunes i listen in Party Shuffle mode. i have two hotkeys from an iTunes global controller app called SizzlinKeys. F1 is pause/play and F2 is next song. there are other commands, but i like to keep it simple. so iTunes goes through my library at random and picks songs. if i don't feel like listening to the song it picked, i simply press next song. now there are times when i want to listen to a particular song, so i do so, but in a portable player that could in no way contain all my music, i could definitely see how just playing randomly would work. i simply make a playlist of all my most listened to songs and let it go. it's already very similar to how i listen to my tunes in iTunes. with the regular iPod and iPod mini where you get closer to containing the bulk if not all of your music library, some more specific navigation would probably be necessary. but when you only have 1 or 2 GB to work with, your choices are already limited as it is (unless you like listening at 64 kbps).

 

[johngordon]

The new iPod shuffle is OK. Its only selling point is synchronisation with iTunes - other than that I think its underspecced and overpriced (in the UK).

at £69? how much is the typical 512MB flash player here in the UK?

Iain

 

[jhomayne]

The firewire port is clearly blocked, and it doesn't look like much would fit in the remaining USB port either.

Of course there are workarounds, (I've got a USB cable extender that came with my mouse that I'd be able to use, but unfortunately I don't have it with me right now), but I'd rather not have to deal with extra cables, possibly a USB hub, whatever. I've got a laptop, I don't want to have to carry around a lot of extras when travelling, etc.

well.. putting it in the right hand usb socket would solve the firewire problem (and hopefully not create another one as long as you can cope without using an external monitor for awhile! )

and i have a USB pen drive that is the same width as the ipod shuffle (2.5cm) and i can happily leave that in while my mouse is plugged into the other socket.

 

[fallt]

It's definitely not overpriced...

Dear All,

I just bought a 1GB and I have to say I don't think it is over-priced. A few weeks back I was looking for a 1GB flash-drive to replace my 128MB JumpDrive and the 1GB iPod Shuffle isn't much more that straight 1GB flash drives. The way I see it, why buy a flash-drive when you can buy this instead and it can double up as a from-time-to-time iPod?

I'm looking forward to getting mine, it'll be much easier to carry than my 30GB iPod when I'm running.

Best,

Chris @ Fallt

 

[jhomayne]

yeah i think some people are missing the flash-drive benefits of this new ipod.

£69 for 512mb is none too shabby.

i paid like £20 for an 8mb stick back in the day..

 

[NatronB]

Ipod Shuffle

Of course there are workaroundsQUOTE]

Try sticking it in your keyboard's USB port.

How long does it take to transfer 1 GB of stuff over USB1?

-N

PS- he he... "stick it in."

 

[jyumibe]

shuffle as flash drive?

this is just basic question about the ipod's shuffle functionality as a flash drive. a professor i work for wants to buy a flash drive to transfer files between mac and pc's when she's on the road, and i'm thinking about telling her to get one of these. i can't quite tell from the apple site and from the thread if it has the exact same functionality/accessibility as a normal flash drive for such things. i'm thinking/hoping that it does. does it simply mount on pc's as mac as a normal flash drive does for drag and drop of files?

 

[mcmav37]

this is just basic question about the ipod's shuffle functionality as a flash drive. a professor i work for wants to buy a flash drive to transfer files between mac and pc's when she's on the road, and i'm thinking about telling her to get one of these. i can't quite tell from the apple site and from the thread if it has the exact same functionality/accessibility as a normal flash drive for such things. i'm thinking/hoping that it does. does it simply mount on pc's as mac as a normal flash drive does for drag and drop of files?

Yes, I actually think they should make this ability more obvious on the website because I think it is an additional selling point. But, it should work exactly as you mentioned. I haven't gotten my hands on one yet (hopefully Apple retail will have them today?), but my guess is that plugging it in will mount the drive and launch iTunes (if installed), but the user get to decide if they want to change the music loaded on it. As SJ showed, you go to preferences in iTunes to allow it to be used as a flash drive and set aside whatever amount you want for storage and the rest will be filled with songs.

 

[tomjleeds]

After having sold my 4G 20GB a few months ago, I find myself about to order an iPod Shuffle. Yes, for the price of two I could get another 20GB, but to be honest I'm one of those people who likes to listen to a certain type of music at a time so the Shuffle is perfect for me. Plus, I don't have a lot of pocket space, so it coming with a lanyard is a huge plus

I also think it's great value. Although it doesn't have a screen, the 512MB model is as cheap as they come (and much more attractive) while the 1GB model just about undercuts the whole market. The accessories they've got lined up are as good as I would expect - I'll probably be grabbing a battery pack (which is my main complaint with the 4G - it needs more battery life but the battery pack makes it enormous).

No education discount in the UK

 

[Jookbox]

why on EARTH would anyone get this (as a music player)? no track listing and no control over the songs. i guess apple fanboys will buy anything. i'll just keep saving up for a normal ipod.

 

[rtdunham]

BTW Listening by shuffle only is just like listening to the radio (over which you have no control - except with the iPod Shuffle, you know there'll be only songs you do like (and no ads!)"

Chris, it's actually better than that: you have the option, with the flick of a switch on the back, to either shuffle or play the playlist in the order in which you loaded it.

I have been waiting for a flash pod to use when i go running and this one fits the bill: I'll load it from iTunes with the music or radio broadcast recordings (Griffin RadioShark) that i want to listen to on that day's run. In the order in which i wish to hear those sound-units. And it'll then do exactly what i want. "iPod Shuffle: Better than Radio""

There's even a setup in the software allowing you to keep a playlist--called "today's listening" for ex--you create that playlist prior to going out, and when you connect the Shuffle it automatically loads that playlist in the device--again, putting what you want to hear where you want it in the order in which you want it.

I thought i wanted a screen, but it turns out to be almost exactly the perfect device for me (I'd stilll like AM radio reception, too--every user's different, eh?).

After a day's use, I like mine a lot. And more and more.

peace
terry

 

[PickledSquirrel]

hehe fortunately, my boyfriend just wrecked my walkman. I've been telling myself for ages that i shouldn't by an iPod as long as I had the old CDthing still going; but i guess thats sorted out:d
I don't need to carry my entire music collection with me, and I don't want to spend a fortune on a new portable music gizmo (iPod, therefore iPoor:d), so I think the shuffle is the perfect thing for me.

And i think apple will be laughing all the way to the bank.

-Squirrel

 

[Stella]

why on EARTH would anyone get this (as a music player)? no track listing and no control over the songs. i guess apple fanboys will buy anything. i'll just keep saving up for a normal ipod.

Exactly what sort of control of songs do you want? You can shuffle, play in sequential order, back / forward through tracks, scan back / forward in a song. You can select what songs you want from iTunes or like iTunes pick randomly etc...

 

[edwardcheah]

This has been what i have been waiting for, i don't need to all my music with me at all times, just the ones i'm listening too at the moment. i was a bit disspointed with the lack of screen but come to think of it. its not necessery.

 

[Sir_Giggles]

why on EARTH would anyone get this (as a music player)? no track listing and no control over the songs. i guess apple fanboys will buy anything. i'll just keep saving up for a normal ipod.

Agreed. Steve's RDF was particularly strong yesterday.