Yes, Apple just came out with a new iPod Shuffle. As always, it’s cool. As always, if you’re into tech stuff, you want one.
Pros:
+ Very cool size – smaller than ever.
+ Voice Over feature, where you can hear what songs you are listening to. This is by far the biggest innovation. Funny enough, if you have a Windows computer, it speaks to you in a female voice and male if you have a Mac. (An “alpha” thing?)
+ 4 gb capacity (2 gb was the previous high).
Cons:
– 10 hour battery life. (The current Nano has 24 – and the $29 Shuffle I’ll mention in a minute has 12.)
– You can only use the Apple-provided headphones, which don’t fit every set of ears. (They don’t fit mine!)
Suggestion: Buy a 1 gb Shuffle from the Apple Refurb store for $29 or $39, depending on availability. Get a great set of headphones and sing all the way to the bank. (Update: Now there are 2 gb models for $39, if you keep checking back.)
Big users’ tip: always leave the headphones plugged in. If you take them out, this puppy is so small you’ll lose it within minutes.
Yes, think I’ll stick to my 1GB shuffle. For me the deciding factor to avoid it are the headphones. I find these non-inear headphones sheer rubbish, say compared to the Senheisser CX300 inear ones I had. And what’s with the different Mac and PC voices? Is that just there for a dig or a laff.
The voices – it’s true – watch the video on the Apple site.
The headphones are a deal-breaker for me, too. I think I could get used to using the controls but Apples earbuds don’t fit my ears at all.
I laughed at the bad Windows voice and wondered if it was a dig (Ed’s comment) or if they just used a standard system voice.
I didn’t find a $29 Shuffle — looks like they are all $39.
Sometimes they are available and sometimes not. The $39 is the next-to-new generation, and the $29 model is the generation before that. (Though it looks the same as the $39 model.)