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iPod Shuffle Shipping Times Worsen as Retail Stores Run Out of Stock

farewelwilliams said:
who buys these?
Click to expand...

I have one. I used to use it for working out.

My thought is that they need to update them with one new feature - bluetooth. It should be able to wirelessly connect to BT headphones and be able to connect to an iPhone or iPad to transfer music to it wirelessly. That and add in charging like the Apple Watch. Also an accelerometer and make it a simple fitness tracker as well. Sell it for $99. Boom, revitalized iPod Touch - and the "Apple fitness tracker that isn't the Apple Watch" crowd is happy.
 
The thing is.

I do not for one millisecond believe this:

"Apple discontinued the iPod Classic due to the difficulty in purchasing parts to manufacture it "

Really? REALLY?

They expect anyone to buy that as a reason?
 
They should discontinue the shuffle and update one or both of the two remaining ipods to play high res files.
 
farewelwilliams said:
who buys these?
Click to expand...

I bought one a couple of months ago and I love it. Great for when i go for a walk or when i'm lying on the couch and wanna listen to some music. its so cheap if anything were to happen to it its not a big deal

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5232152 said:
I bought one yesterday. I want more to life than being a couch-potato :rolleyes:
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actually they are great to use while laying on the couch
 
Shaun said:
Therein lies the problem. Once the Apple Watch is launched they will almost certainly discontinue anything that could compete with it, especially as one of their key demographics is fitness. The shuffle will almost certainly be the first to go.
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shuffle is $49, the watch will be hundreds of dollars plus you need to carry an iPhone too. shuffle caters to a completely different crowd
 
sshambles said:
Shuffles are great for running, especially given the latest iPhones are too big to run with...
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OMG yes. I can't even make it a block from my house with that humungous iPhone 6 strapped to my arm before my shoulder is throbbing. By the second mile I'm running in right handed circles. Oh the humanity! :roll eyes: Ridiculous statement.

The problem with exercising with the shuffle, or any other non-GPS, non-connected device is that your workout tracking program doesn't work. I have a shuffle I bought about 6 years ago that I used as an actual music player for about 2 weeks. Then I put it in my desk drawer at work, and have only used it as a USB flash test device for testing encryption software.

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Arcady said:
If your washing machine takes two hours to wash your clothes, perhaps you should replace it instead.
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Umm, my newer, advanced washing machine has a two hour cycle. It's called sanitize.
 
rdlink said:
OMG yes. I can't even make it a block from my house with that humungous iPhone 6 strapped to my arm before my shoulder is throbbing. By the second mile I'm running in right handed circles. Oh the humanity! :roll eyes: Ridiculous statement.

The problem with exercising with the shuffle, or any other non-GPS, non-connected device is that your workout tracking program doesn't work. I have a shuffle I bought about 6 years ago that I used as an actual music player for about 2 weeks. Then I put it in my desk drawer at work, and have only used it as a USB flash test device for testing encryption software.
Click to expand...


In other news - some people don't care about tracking and just want something small/light to throw on to run or exercise with. But don't let those use cases stand in the way of you being the definitive voice.
 
Piggie said:
The thing is.

I do not for one millisecond believe this:

"Apple discontinued the iPod Classic due to the difficulty in purchasing parts to manufacture it "

Really? REALLY?

They expect anyone to buy that as a reason?
Click to expand...

I believe it. The way I see it, Apple would have needed to redesign the Classic iPod with newer components, and they probably felt it wasn't worth investing the R&D funds to do so.
 
Shadow Runner said:
They need to come out with only one iPod. Storage that ranges from 16GB to 128 or 256, has a small touch screen like 2" or so, and built in clip. This would satisfy the people that get it for exercise and the people that want a simple iPod that holds all their music.
Click to expand...

No. First, I'm not going to strap/attach a 4"x5" device to myself for my 35 minute run every day. Second, I don't want a 1"x1" iPod Shuffle as my main iPod for every day use...with no screen, super tiny to easily lose, etc. So a 1-size-fits-all-use-cases-iPod would be a huge failure.

iPods may/are a declining business because, well, 5 billion people on the planet own at least 1 of them and they do last a long time...my 7+ year old classic is still great...our numerous iPod Touches from 2-6 years ago run perfectly. Not to mention they may be declining because Apple invented too many "models" in my opinion, kept flip flopping the Touch and Shuffle's core uses, and also their iPhone line directly competes with iPod Touch and Nano and Classic.

I think "declining" is a wrong term here...sure, it's declining as the product line PLATEAUS because everyone owns one...but Apple should not kill the line or stop investing in it. People (and there are plenty on this planet without an iPod) will still want/need an iPod 5-20 years from now if Apple plays its cards right.

I'm actually waiting for a newer/better Touch...although ours work perfectly well, it would be nice to have a new model *IF* they had a)greatly improved cameras, b)much greater storage capacity and c)priced more cheaply.
 
Piggie said:
The thing is.

I do not for one millisecond believe this:

"Apple discontinued the iPod Classic due to the difficulty in purchasing parts to manufacture it "

Really? REALLY?

They expect anyone to buy that as a reason?
Click to expand...

The volume wasn't high enough for them to manufacture special parts without the cost becoming prohibitively expensive, and the off the shelf parts were no longer available. So their options were a redesign or discontinue and they decided to discontinue it.
 
Piggie said:
The thing is.

I do not for one millisecond believe this:

"Apple discontinued the iPod Classic due to the difficulty in purchasing parts to manufacture it "

Really? REALLY?

They expect anyone to buy that as a reason?
Click to expand...

Sorry, but it's 100% true. You'll have to believe it, like it or not. Toshiba shut down it's Microdrive line and no other manufacture produces them either.

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I'm guessing the Shuffle availability is due to actual parts availability and nothing else. If Apple was going to discontinue it they'd just discontinue it. Unlikely they'd use resources to redesign a low volume, low revenue product.
 
nutmac said:
Wouldn't iPod nano be even better? Granted, it is larger than iPod shuffle (3" x 1.6" x 0.2" vs. 1.1" x 1.2" x 0.3"), but it is still incredibly small and can be paired with a Bluetooth wireless headset for added convenience.
No!!!!
Size is not the issue.
The touchscreen devises are a problem because you have to look at them to change tracks etc.
There are a range of scenarios where you want to use the iPad where you don't want to have to look at the screen to be able to change tracks
Click to expand...
 
Use a nano instead

I had a 5th gen ipod nano for work out (till it died in a basement flood last month) and just got the latest one, it's so light, never even notice it's in my pocket + I get a lot more functionality out of it. Maybe Apple will lower the price of the Nano :) to $99.00 and up-sell all the people to the Nano.
 
I'd like for Apple to produce an ipod that plays high res files, with a good DAC and also plays FLAC but since ipod is a "declining" business, it seems like they will likely discontinue the shuffle, let the nano stay as it is until sales are low enough that they discontinue that, and then keep giving the ipod touch token updates and let it plod along as their only remaining ipod.
 
Shadow Runner said:
They need to come out with only one iPod. Storage that ranges from 16GB to 128 or 256, has a small touch screen like 2" or so, and built in clip. This would satisfy the people that get it for exercise and the people that want a simple iPod that holds all their music.
Click to expand...

That would be a great way to focus the product line. But, I suspect that the Apple Watch may be that product.
 
rdlink said:
The problem with exercising with the shuffle, or any other non-GPS, non-connected device is that your workout tracking program doesn't work
Click to expand...

I was jogging for several decades before GPS, connected devices and somehow I survived.

Of course, I also jogged for several decades without any music and survived.

The shuffle is perfect for what it does. I view both the iPod Shuffle and the iPad Nano as accessories to my Apple "iCosystem" just like the Apple TV. I would no more expect my Apple TV to replace my MacBook, iPad or iPhone as I would an iPod.

As others have stated, I find the iPod Shuffle perfect for jogging and I'm not worried about it getting wet in the rain or snow.

The iPod Shuffle has the ability to organize music into multiple playlists just like other iDevices.

Songs are sorted in alphabetical order by artist. There may be a way to changed that, but haven't bothered to research it.

As others have noted, using the tactile buttons is easier when you are jogging.
 
yukari said:
For work out, this is the best device.
Click to expand...

Kinda, but I always end up taking my phone with me anyway. Kinda weird feeling being somewhere without your phone.

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nutmac said:
With iPod touch not getting any update for 2 years, I am afraid it is also being phased out. It seems iPad mini is its successor.
Click to expand...

Agree. I think the iPad mini is the new iPod Touch. Most kids/teenagers I see now have iPad minis. 5 years ago kids/teenagers would have an iPod Touch.
 
Is all that memory going to the new iPhone 6+ replacements, or are they killing the shuffle.

The 'New Shuffle' seemed so 'retro', since it looked just like the one from not too many years ago. I liked the 'Shuffle Stick'. but, well...

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nutmac said:
With iPod touch not getting any update for 2 years, I am afraid it is also being phased out. It seems iPad mini is its successor.
Click to expand...

And people that travel for a living will end up going somewhere else to get a small, compact, 'smart' device to use during their travels.

I, for one, LOVE my Touch, and would go as far as quote that lunatic Charlton Heston and say that you would have to pry it out of my hands to get me to give it up.

Smoking your iPhone battery on a transcon, or transoceanic flight when you could have a very full day of needing it charged is an annoyance at best, and a show stopper at worst. And since you don't know what size plane will be shuffling you off through those unfriendly skies, having the minimum amount of carry-on detritus is the better. Carrying an iPhone 6+, PLUS an iPad mini, when a slim Touch would work better AND allow reading, playing a game or two, etc is awesome.
 
Damn. I love the shuffle. I snowboard and I actually run the cord down my sleeve, put the shuffle in my mitten, and can press the buttons from memory right inside my mitten. I know it is a crude solution, but when I wear mittens it is tough for me to press buttons on a remote with the size of the mittens.
 
samcraig said:
In other news - some people don't care about tracking and just want something small/light to throw on to run or exercise with. But don't let those use cases stand in the way of you being the definitive voice.
Click to expand...

I didn't say I was the definitive voice. But the statement "the new iPhone is too big for running" is a ridiculous one, and needed to be challenged. If people find a use for the shuffle more power to them. Everyone has a different view of simplicity. For me, it's finding a way to keep all of my stuff on one device.

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Breaking Good said:
I was jogging for several decades before GPS, connected devices and somehow I survived.

Of course, I also jogged for several decades without any music and survived.

The shuffle is perfect for what it does. I view both the iPod Shuffle and the iPad Nano as accessories to my Apple "iCosystem" just like the Apple TV. I would no more expect my Apple TV to replace my MacBook, iPad or iPhone as I would an iPod.

As others have stated, I find the iPod Shuffle perfect for jogging and I'm not worried about it getting wet in the rain or snow.

The iPod Shuffle has the ability to organize music into multiple playlists just like other iDevices.

Songs are sorted in alphabetical order by artist. There may be a way to changed that, but haven't bothered to research it.

As others have noted, using the tactile buttons is easier when you are jogging.
Click to expand...

You're right, we got along without GPS just fine. And without music players small enough to clip on your collar. And without smart phones. And without automatic transmissions. Or seedless watermelons. Not sure of the point.

As I told another poster, if you find the shuffle meets your needs that's fine. I was just pointing out the limitations, and why I find it to be a redundant, unnecessary device for mine. That's $50 I'd rather put into an accessory to make my iPhone support my workouts better, like an armband or bluetooth headphones.

If enough people find use for the shuffle to keep it viable and economical to produce, great. I hope Apple makes them for decades. I just haven't had a use for one for years.
 
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