[Big Mac]

iPod shuffle: smaller than a pack of gum and much more fun.2


2. Do not eat iPod shuffle.

ROFL! Apple's marketing department has a sense of humor. Or is that Apple Legal covering itself? Haha

http://www.apple.com/ipodshuffle/

[TheJoshu]

Haha, I'll bet all the people who viewed the thread but didn't reply came with the same intent as myself -- hoping that they were the first to spot it!

[lothar56]

Yes! I saw that there and was gonna post something about it until I saw this thread! very funny

[ajprice]

�69 or �99 is a decent price, and it ISN'T shuffle play only . Oh and it's on eBay already...

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...sPageName=WD2V

[Drakino]

So, Apple did indeed introduce "One of those cheep flash players people get for christmas then throw in a drawer and never use". What makes this any different?

Right, they took out the "small crappy screens" they bashed the competition about.

Oh, and it only plays the music on it. No radio, nothing.

I think I'll look at something like a Rio Forge if I ever decide I only want a few songs with me. That way I at least know what I am listening to, can listen to, and record the radio. And get 20 hours off a single AA battery instead of having to buy a seperate accessory to add 2 AAA batteries for 20 hours of runtime.

The Mac mini is cool. This thing just goes against everything Apple has said before in a bad way.

[Mafia]

Originally posted by Drakino:
So, Apple did indeed introduce "One of those cheep flash players people get for christmas then throw in a drawer and never use". What makes this any different?

Right, they took out the "small crappy screens" they bashed the competition about.

Oh, and it only plays the music on it. No radio, nothing.

I think I'll look at something like a Rio Forge if I ever decide I only want a few songs with me. That way I at least know what I am listening to, can listen to, and record the radio. And get 20 hours off a single AA battery instead of having to buy a seperate accessory to add 2 AAA batteries for 20 hours of runtime.

The Mac mini is cool. This thing just goes against everything Apple has said before in a bad way.

agreed, i mean people want to know what they are listening too. and if its for running or working out when u don't really care what song, well who is gonna spend 100 bux on a jogging player.

[vexborg]

Well, I don't think I'm going out to buy one - what I use for my portable music is a Plam Tungsten T with pTunes and a 1 GB SD card, enough space for me to hold 10 CD's and it has a colour screen as well

[FulcrumPilot]

looks great for sure!

[TheBadgerHunter]

Originally posted by Drakino:
So, Apple did indeed introduce "One of those cheep flash players people get for christmas then throw in a drawer and never use". What makes this any different?

Right, they took out the "small crappy screens" they bashed the competition about.

Oh, and it only plays the music on it. No radio, nothing.

I think I'll look at something like a Rio Forge if I ever decide I only want a few songs with me. That way I at least know what I am listening to, can listen to, and record the radio. And get 20 hours off a single AA battery instead of having to buy a seperate accessory to add 2 AAA batteries for 20 hours of runtime.

The Mac mini is cool. This thing just goes against everything Apple has said before in a bad way.

Its smaller, cheaper, and its made by Apple. It fills the gap between a full fledged player a a couple of song while you workout or whatever. Why would you want to buy a Rio player when you could buy a regular iPod for the same price??

[Mafia]

Originally posted by FulcrumPilot:


looks great for sure!

the girl or the shuffle

[typoon]

It's kind of Amazing. Almost 3 hours after the Keynote no "The iPod Shuffle is too expensive" Posts yet. I'm surprised.

These things are great. They make Great gifts for people. I mean also companies could use them as promotions or something since they are not too expensive.

[demograph68]

Originally posted by TheBadgerHunter:
Its smaller, cheaper, and its made by Apple. It fills the gap between a full fledged player a a couple of song while you workout or whatever. Why would you want to buy a Rio player when you could buy a regular iPod for the same price??

Isn't that why the iPod mini came to be?

[itai195]

Originally posted by Drakino:
So, Apple did indeed introduce "One of those cheep flash players people get for christmas then throw in a drawer and never use". What makes this any different?

It doesn't need to be different. It's just meant to leverage the iPod brand in the low end market segment. The question prospective buyers will ask isn't "what makes iPod Shuffle different?" It's "why should I buy something else?" That's one of the perks Apple gets because they're the market leader.

I think it's great... I got a 512MB USB flash drive from my company for Christmas and the iPod Shuffle is a flash drive plus mp3 player for $30 more.

The Rio Forge isn't competitively priced, IMO. Twice the price of the 512MB iPod Shuffle, $50 less than an iPod Mini.

[ajprice]

Just thought (my brain hurts now!): One of the accessories is a Dock, whats the point of this when the Shuffle is a USB stick?

[Mastrap]

I am going to get one for my wife. The less technologically complex, the more likely is she to use it. I am going to load it with her favourite music, get her a decent pair of headphones.

[lavar78]

Originally posted by ajprice:
Just thought (my brain hurts now!): One of the accessories is a Dock, whats the point of this when the Shuffle is a USB stick?

Well, it's useful for computers that don't have easily accessible USB ports.

[TheJoshu]

You know, I was thinking - I use my iPod in two contexts: while driving long distances (college to home, for instance), and while commuting by subway. I never need the screen while commuting, and a smaller 'pod would be really great. On the other hand, I like to choose my own songs in the car. Well, I don't know.

Anyway, 1GB would never make me happy again. 15 has me spoiled.

[turtle777]

Originally posted by ajprice:
Just thought (my brain hurts now!): One of the accessories is a Dock, whats the point of this when the Shuffle is a USB stick?

Look at the Mac mini and think again !

-t

[SuperGroove]

You know, I was thinking - I use my iPod in two contexts: while driving, and while commuting. I never need the screen while commuting, and a smaller 'pod would be really great. On the other hand, I like to choose my own songs in the car. Well, I don't know.

Anyway, 1GB would never make me happy again. 15 has me spoiled.

I don't think Apple had you in mind when they created this flash player.

But one day you'll see the appeal of having an Mp3 player that won't have a hard drive that dies in less than 2 years, or a battery that continually loses its capacity.

I just like how simple this Shuffle is. Too bad it doesn't have an FM Tuner, or Recording capabilities. I could care less if it doesn't have a display

[mitchell_pgh]

Originally posted by Drakino:
I think I'll look at something like a Rio Forge if I ever decide I only want a few songs with me.

Are you talking about the $200 Rio Forge?

Let's be realistic here... you get double the storage for 1/2 as much with a 1G iPod shuffle.

Or spend another $50 and pick up an iPod mini...

[vmpaul]

I'm trying to figure out exactly how much capacity this thing has. I'm not that familiar with flash-drives. Do they have a directory system like HD's?

Does a 1 GB flash-drive have 100mb directory? Is this thing really 900 Mb (or so)?

[lavar78]

Originally posted by SuperGroove:
I just like how simple this Shuffle is. Too bad it doesn't have an FM Tuner, or Recording capabilities.

If it did, it wouldn't be as simple.

[mitchell_pgh]

Originally posted by Mafia:
agreed, i mean people want to know what they are listening too. and if its for running or working out when u don't really care what song, well who is gonna spend 100 bux on a jogging player.

You're kidding right?

[TheJoshu]

Originally posted by SuperGroove:
I don't think Apple had you in mind when they created this flash player.

But one day you'll see the appeal of having an Mp3 player that won't have a hard drive that dies in less than 2 years, or a battery that continually loses its capacity.

I just like how simple this Shuffle is. Too bad it doesn't have an FM Tuner, or Recording capabilities. I could care less if it doesn't have a display

(I edited my original message for clarity.)

Well, I think the appeal of having a 15GB portable hard drive and MP3 player that dies in two years is greater than the appeal of having a 1GB Flash drive without a display that hypothetically lasts longer. I've enjoyed the past two years with my iPod and even if it dies tomorrow, I'll be ready for an upgrade. (Tragic as it will be.) Do you really think it's legitimate to claim that a hard drive-based MP3 player will die in two years, anyway? But I understand the products are for separate markets anyway, so it's a nonissue.

I agree, the shuffle seems to be for people who are probably more active than I, but don't need all the available playlists or capacity of their iPods? I don't really know, but at that price point I'm sure it's got a huge market. $99 is below a lot of people's impulse electronic purchases, while $299 or even $249 may not be.

[rozwado1]

Originally posted by FulcrumPilot:

needs less clothing

[engaged]

Originally posted by FulcrumPilot:

Apple runs ad campaign with producers of Baywatch..?!

[lavar78]

Originally posted by engaged:
Apple runs ad campaign with producers of Baywatch..?!

I don't think she's "equipped" to be on Baywatch, but I've never really watched it.

[Cubeoid]

Originally posted by rozwado1:
needs less clothing

[nredman]

Originally posted by Mafia:
agreed, i mean people want to know what they are listening too. and if its for running or working out when u don't really care what song, well who is gonna spend 100 bux on a jogging player.

if you don't know what you are listening to....yeah you suck then

[Mafia]

Originally posted by mitchell_pgh:
You're kidding right?

no, i actually like the ipod shuffle, but i personally wouldn't spend 100 on a jogging player.

[nredman]

Originally posted by Mafia:
no, i actually like the ipod shuffle, but i personally wouldn't spend 100 on a jogging player.

i see, i haven't really decided if i want one or not, would be nice to use for jogging and riding bike. using my 4g ipod for jogging kind of annoys me, this would be nice and light. my wife would probably get annoyed if i picked one up anyways for f it

[thunderous_funker]

There are some seriously clueless people here.

I'm unaware of any other 512MB flash players for $99. Or 1GB for $150.

Or any Flash player that works with iTunes.

Do some of you even think before typing some clueless blather?

[Spheric Harlot]

This thing weighs less than an ounce (25g) AND is cheaper than the competition AND has a MUCH better interface - iTunes - rather than a single-line LCD display and feature overkill.

My prediction:
This iPod shuffle is SO gonna wipe the floor with the competition, it ain't even gonna be funny.

[ringo]

If the feature set isn't attractive then don't buy one. This isn't about providing the iPod experience at an affordable price, its about cashing in on the "iPods are cool" trend with anyone who's been too thrifty to buy a real iPod yet. All some people will care about is that they have an Apple mp3 player and they get to sport white earbuds.

If it had a better feature set, then there would be the risk of cannibalizing the sales of the more expensive iPod. This is probably aimed at first time mp3 player buyers. I doubt anyone who already has either a cheap flash mp3 player or a real iPod is going to be interested in the shuffle.

[Spheric Harlot]

Originally posted by ringo:
If the feature set isn't attractive then don't buy one. This isn't about providing the iPod experience at an affordable price, its about cashing in on the "iPods are cool" trend with anyone who's been too thrifty to buy a real iPod yet. All some people will care about is that they have an Apple mp3 player and they get to sport white earbuds.

Actually, you're wrong.

It's about both those things.

The whiners here - and you - just tend to forget that iTunes is a most integral part of the iPod experience.

And full iTunes integration is something that NONE of the other flash players, regardless of price, will get you.

[ringo]

Originally posted by Spheric Harlot:
The whiners here - and you - just tend to forget that iTunes is a most integral part of the iPod experience.

I'm actually more of an EphPod fan myself.

[Link]

In Soviet Russia, iPod eat you!

[The Oracle]

My wife goes to the gym often for about an hour. She jogs and does the stairmaster while listening to her full-sized iPod. Since she's there only an hour and doesn't spend time sifting through music, she'd love an iPod shuffle. It's lighter and smaller.

Also, my commute is only 20 minutes; I'd love one for the car with an itrip (or like device).

[mdc]

i would not use one of these for everyday use, but i am going to order one for when i go rock climbing. a lot of the time when i climb in the gym i use my ipod, but i am always scared of falling on it and cracking the screen.

the ipod shuffle would be perfect. no screen to crack. very light, put it on a lanyard, so i can't fall on it. load it up with a few albums and away i go.

$99 come on, that so cheap!

Originally posted by turtle777:


Look at the Mac mini and think again !

-t

Apple's USB keyboard has a free USB port - I assume third party keyboards have them too.

[Rev-O]

Gotta admit, it would be perfect for my wife as well. Her usual work out is about an hour, so the Shuff will hold plenty of music. She's not going to invest the time to create and manage playlists (I get that chore). She will go out to ITMS and buy songs she likes. It is exactly what she needs. Just plug it in, plop a couple hundred of her favorite songs on it and hit play. Hmmm.

Valentine's Day pressie?

[JohnM15141]

The iPod shuffle means I will now never be without music. I am always cautious about my ipod because it cost so durn much. I do like it a lot and have taken it along when I really shouldn't have. But now I will have the Shuffle with me as well( I ordered one today) and I promise not to try and eat it! I see it as an excellant complement to my iPod.

[Xeo]

This thing is perfect for a lot of markets. Having no screen makes it less attractive to me, but I see it as a USB flash drive that plays music, and then it looks much better. Being able to specify how much music will fill up the space is really cool. But targeting this at people who just listen to music while driving and exercising, they don't care. This is great for them. I know people who pick random songs and burn them to a CD. They don't care about the order, anyway.

My sister needs a Mac mini and an iPod shuffle now to finally get into the computer stuff. She has no computer at all right now.

Does anyone else see the lanyard attached to the cap as a Bad Idea™? I've seen many complaints from USB flash drive users who hate the lanyard attached to the cap since, if the cap falls off, the drive is the thing to get lost rather than the cap. The cap would have to be on very securely...

[Teronzhul]

Originally posted by FulcrumPilot:

So they can make a decent flash mp3 player for under $100 but they charge $30 for an arm band? I know they're charging for the look, but come on.

[thunderous_funker]

Just ordered 2 of them. Edu price on the 1GB is $139 and free shipping.

Hellooooooooooo, iPod!!

[Rev-O]

1 gigger on order!

[PurpleGiant]

Originally posted by Xeo:
Does anyone else see the lanyard attached to the cap as a Bad Idea™? I've seen many complaints from USB flash drive users who hate the lanyard attached to the cap since, if the cap falls off, the drive is the thing to get lost rather than the cap. The cap would have to be on very securely...

I thought this at first. However watching the keynote stream, when Jobs clips the lanyard cap on it makes an audible 'click' that really sounded like its locked in there - not at all like the usb flash drives with caps that 'slide' on and off.


PG's prediction: Apple has another massive, woop-ass hit. Plug it in, fill it up, off you go. Doesn't get easier than this. Anyone who says "oh but I want to scroll through my music/a screen/see who sings this or that" - get a mini. When jogging, exercising and like activities, you don't want to see who plays this song, or scroll through albums to find a track. You just want to adjust the volume, and occasionally hit next to skip a crappy track.

iPod Shuffle: Winner.

[maxintosh]

Yep. I use my iPod 95% of the time to go to the gym. Sometimes I take it with me on the subway or walking somewhere. When travelling I usually take my PowerBook.

The iPod Shuffle is a bargain. It costs about the same as a flash drive of a comparable price, except it's designed by Apple and plays music too

For that 95% in the gym, the iPod Shuffle looks really fantastic. It's tiny, it doesn't cost a fortune, and it has no mechanical parts to break. I'm really looking forward to it.

I do sort of have the feeling that my 4G iPod is going to get a little neglected.

[Xeo]

Originally posted by maxintosh:
I do sort of have the feeling that my 4G iPod is going to get a little neglected.

To be honest, I think my 2G 20GB is already neglected because it's not as easy to grab and play on the go. It takes up a lot of pocket room and if I'm out and about, I don't want that thing along to break or get sat on.

I think something this size would be much easier to grab and take along for a few hours of music. I think I'll get one next Christmas season.

MP3 players this size are all over Japan. It seems like everyone has a little stick with headphones coming out of it. They all have tiny displays so you can see the track name, though.

[DeathMan]

It totally replaces the need for a jump drive, thus giving any geek an excuse to buy one (assuming they don't already have one, or don't have a "big enough" one.

I'm hoping for the LiliPod shuffle. This is the perfect flash player for working out. Plenty of music on there, light, what else do you need?

If you want features get a mini, or a full ipod. (Or an iRiver, if you absolutely have to record, or play ogg)

I also want to see a dongle that I can hook my shuffle up to my ipod, and transfer my on-the-go playlist down to my shuffle. No iTunes necessary. Maybe even juice it up a little.