Comments on: New iPod Shuffle – Shiny but Tiny

By: Glenn

Glenn — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 00:21:41 +0000

I guess that SNL sketch about Steve Jobs announcing the “iPod flea” was kind of prescient now that we now the direction things are going.

Next step–voice commands and no buttons at all.

If they’re going to make it this dull looking they could at least offer it in colors. Or artwork. Or something.

Why are they making it this small again? Oh right, because they can.

By: Spark

Spark — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 23:09:58 +0000

jon, thanks for the pointer. I guess a dongle would work fine for how I use the device. Mine is not broken however, so I probably won’t upgrade. Voice over isn’t compelling enough. I guess if I were buying a new one today, I’d get the new one with a dongle (when available).

Todd: if you don’t have a usage scenario for specific hardware, then I guess it isn’t for you. My blackberry is a horrible MP3 player. Carrying the shuffle works for me, as it clips onto the headphone case I carry the ear buds in. My Kindle also works for me. Sometimes a “do-anything” device isn’t the answer, but it TOTALLY depends upon your individual usage scenario.

By: Todd

Todd — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 21:33:59 +0000

( Said in my best Austin Powers voice ) “Who carries a phone AND a MP3 player? Honestly.”

…or to be more articulate ( which I cannot ):

The Kindle Hardware Tax

There’s a lot of news about Amazon’s new Kindle 2 today – I still don’t want one. I use my iPhone for ebooks all the time now.

The Kindle asks me to separate out a merged-in app for the benefit of — well, what benefit? The display? It’s nice, but not nice enough to take on the cost and the bother of a separate piece of hardware.

While the new Kindle upgrade is nice, owning another device is a kind of a tax.

http://radar.oreilly.com/2009/02/the-kindle-hardware-tax.html

By: Mari

Mari — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 20:01:42 +0000

The headphone thing is irritating, especially because the earbuds are the one thing I’ve always disliked about iPods.

By: MC

MC — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 19:30:31 +0000

Amazingly, my shuffle made it through the wash and dryer a few years and plays perfectly!!!

By: jon

jon — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 17:49:26 +0000

oh yeah, i miss my 2nd gen shuffle too, it was awesome until i went for a bike ride and left it in my jersey pocket then didn’t find it until after i washed it… it turns on but keeps like 1 minute of battery life…

By: jon

jon — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 17:44:23 +0000

i tweeted about this earlier – you are forced into using apple’s headphone to listen to music, engadget got the full details – http://tinyurl.com/cd8ub8 – where a “dongle” will be sold for 3rd party headphones, and they are working with 3rd parties for compatible headphones too.

i have been investigating this because i have been looking for headphones to control my 4g nano as the apple ones can with around-the-ear-design, but no luck. So, i am getting some budfits and the “Apple Earphones with Remote and Mic” to get the best of both worlds (hopefully)

By: Dave Zatz

Dave Zatz — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 17:32:41 +0000

Now I have a new thought… with a smooth, flat face like that perhaps Apple expects to sell tons as engraved gifts or corporate giveaways/handouts. Hmmm.