Meet the New iPod Shuffle

So here's the deal, its 4 GB for $80. I say that's not that bad. There are no buttons on the shuffle itself with the exception of the slider that lets you choose between off, shuffle and loop. I like the longer clip and gum stick design. The old shuffle didn't really need a re-design, but this one isn't bad by any means. It's aluminum and comes in silver and black with a stainless steel clip (much better than the previous one).

Here's what's pretty cool. The shuffle talks to you (called VoiceOver). It'll tell you the name of the song that's playing and/or the name of the current playlist. Therefore, you can make multiple playlists to go and say have one for the gym or one for the road trip and you'll be able to skip to whichever one you want.

Here's the biggest problem. The controls aren't on the shuffle, they are on the earbuds wire. There is a button for play/pause, forward and rewind. The other commands use the same buttons in different mannerisms. Heres a chart. It's kinda complicated, but once you get used to it, I'm sure you'll be fine.

Here the bad part about it. If you don't want to use the headphones that come with the shuffle, you have to buy a special adapter with the controls to use the new shuffle. I personally hate the apple headphones. They don't fit in my ear properly and fall out easily (especially at the gym where I use a shuffle the most). The extra attachment will probably cost around $30 bringing the total cost to above $100. At $80, the shuffle will sell like hot cakes. It's a new Apple product and it will do well. When you consider the fact that most people do actually use those signature white ipod headphones (until they break), it's easy to see why this gadget will sell.

What's more is that Apple is looking to other companies to make similar headphones (which may cost up to $100), that let you have the same controls. I also don't know if other headphones that already have those controls will work properly on this shuffle (check back for updates).

I wish Apple kept the controls on the shuffle itself. Instead of putting the same controls on the headphone cord, put them on the shuffle. It seems easy enough. Here's the guided tour by Apple.