New iPod Shuffle (3rd Gen) buttonless!

[rockophoria]

Apple silently introduce a new iPod Shuffle.. buttonless.. faceless.. though it speaks.. literally! 



almost same the size of your average chewing gum.. no control buttons, clickwheel.. absolutely nothing, there's a clip though. 



The thing about this is the controls was placed in the earphones itself! very bad move.. since we all iPod/iPhone/Touch/Nano/Shuffle users are NOT FOND with the apple earphone quality.. (I believe majority among you will agree) though this earphones are cool they are prone to wear and tear, first the rubber lining then the tip of the earbud itself (the one with the "L" and "R" signs) breaks in a couple of months, and rubber extension in the jack will tear away (considering this earphones cost almost 800 pesos!)



Much better yet if they just made the earphone control area with an input jack so that user's can choose to either use the standard Apple earphones or something way better like the Bose In-Ear or the cheaper and better A4Tech In-Ear earphones, now with the way it is made Apple forced us to use their not-so-good quality earphones until it breaks down in 6-8 months and expect us to BUY another one! (since we wont be able to use it unless we buy the standard earphones WHERE THE CONTROL IS LOCATED)

Using it is a bit more complicated than we thought.. 3 control buttons.. the "-" and "+" buttons where we obviously control the volume.. and the lame "center" button where we "press", "press+hold", "press 3 times then hold" or whatever to accomplish tasks such as "next", "previous", "playlist" etc.

With a little hold and press combination a dull robotic voice (if your a windows user Microsoft Sam will be the one) will tell you the title of the current song you are playing, the album and how many more songs are in the current playlist (believe me its really weird, unless your a mac user where the computer voice is a little better than Sam)

This will be the weirdest way Product Usability is introduced.. how I wish Steve Jobs gets better soon!

more info: http://www.apple.com/ipodshuffle/features.html

[inglorious_bastard]

Yeah, this smells like a flop to me. I would probably buy one, just for the sake of a new iPod, but the earphones are a deal breaker. Also, LOL @ the controls. Might as well said they needed the Morse code to operate this thing. 

[marzi]

The thing about this is the controls was placed in the earphones itself! very bad move.. since we all iPod/iPhone/Touch/Nano/Shuffle users are NOT FOND with the apple earphone quality..

third party earphone makers like sennheiser and skullcandy will definitely make models specifically designed for new gen shuffles...im pretty sure of that...

[rockophoria]

third party earphone makers like sennheiser and skullcandy will definitely make models specifically designed for new gen shuffles...im pretty sure of that...

Most probably.. pero its too much effort just for a 5th ranked Apple music player product dont you think? siguro for the 1st and second ranked (iPhone and iPod Touch) sa lineup nila pwede pa..

What I beleive is Apple will release a control cable extension with an "input jack" soon.. in this case all 3rd party companies wont bother making an earphone o headphone with a control solely to be used with this 3rd generation shuffle crap..

eh paano kung hindi nag click ito? ehdi nasayang lang resources nila..  sana lang talaga gumaling na si Steve Jobs para mabatukan nya yung head designer nito

[rockophoria]

Yeah, this smells like a flop to me. I would probably buy one, just for the sake of a new iPod, but the earphones are a deal breaker. Also, LOL @ the controls. Might as well said they needed the Morse code to operate this thing. 

you said it.. tsaka ampanget ng boses pre! kung sa mac mo synchronize medyo ok kasi di masakit sa tenga yung computer voice ng mac.. yung microsoft sam kasi parang monggoloid 

[marzi]

eh paano kung hindi nag click ito? ehdi nasayang lang resources nila.. 

ayus lang pre...matatawa pa nga ako dahil sa wakas nabasag na yung tingin ng mga tao na lahat ng Apple products eh magaganda...

im not a fan of Apple eh..i dunno why...i used to own 1st gen nano and shuffle pero dun pa lang nakita ko ng maaga akong mabubwiset dahil fashion statement ang tingin ng mga tao sa kanya at hindi isang simpleng media player lang...

[rockophoria]

ayus lang pre...matatawa pa nga ako dahil sa wakas nabasag na yung tingin ng mga tao na lahat ng Apple products eh magaganda...

im not a fan of Apple eh..i dunno why...i used to own 1st gen nano and shuffle pero dun pa lang nakita ko ng maaga akong mabubwiset dahil fashion statement ang tingin ng mga tao sa kanya at hindi isang simpleng media player lang...

Actually bro tama ka dyan.. sa sobrang mahal ng mga produkto nila eh nagiging fashion and status symbol na, kumbaga pag merong kang apple product eh "madami kang pera" yun talaga ang tingin ng mga tao sa produkto ng apple..

In my case ang minahal ko sa Apple products eh ang "User Experience" methodology nila sa produkto nila.. since User Interface Designer ako eh naappreciate ko kung gaano kagaling ang mga Usability Analysts and User Interface Designers ng Apple dahil sobrang daling gamitin ng mga produkto nila.. kumbaga "study" na rin para saakin ang gumamit ng Apple products -- dehinds ko ito excuse 

nangangarap nga akong makapagtrabaho sa apple.. kahit assistant lang nung assistant graphic designer nila.. hehehe

[doremi]

...and i guess ...you can't connect that shuffle to an auxiliary jack ...cause the controls are in the earphones ...right?