What has Apple done?! Seriously, Apple, what is going on here? In a desperate attempt to innovate train moving, you have infuriated the masses and are causing hysteria all because the iPod shuffle is tied down to proprietary headphones. After all, there is nothing tech fiends love to do more than spending $79 on a 4GB iPod and then hooking up $349 Shure earbuds.
New Shuffle……..No way will I buy an iPod that REQUIRES a PROPRIETARY earbud that houses all the controls! You will be locked into having to purchase Apple Earbuds or wait till 3rd party manufacturer come out with an equivalent. The point is that something thats suppose to be as simple as a shuffle, now your left having to buy “special” earbuds.
We know that you were just trying to shrink the tiny MP3 player to the max and had to come up with someway to control playback without compromising that goal. It’s a shame that other MP3 manufacturers can’t offer something competitive in terms of price, storage and size. We’re basically forced into buying from Apple if all those things are of the utmost importance.
As is often the case, CrunchGear has missed the real story in its breathless product release announcement. The Shuffle is now tied to proprietary Apple headphones. Others have tied music players to custom headphones in the past, and paid dearly for it. Ear canals are different, listening preferences are different, etc. Dictating headphones and then (hey, wild guess) offering them in only one style is a recipe for disaster.
I’m guessing Apple will declare it a breakthrough product yet abandon the proprietary headphones for the next Shuffle.
Look, everyone’s ears are different. Mine grow fungus like a Petri dish. Shame on you, Apple, for trying to trick us into your little scheme that will FORCE us to use the most popular earbuds in the universe. We will not be tricked so easily.
Hey, Apple!.. Where are the keys?! What if I want to use my own earbuds?
Most of us have spent a lot of cake on earphones already and have grown accustomed to wearing ‘em. I believe that Satan has a special place reserved for you in Hell full of Windows Vista computers and Zunes. Even those don’t lock you down to proprietary software and now *gasp* earphones!
[special thanks to all the commenters on the iPod shuffle launch post]
Boohoohoo yawn whine
You buy apple, you get locked in. Do you need a fr**** headphone to realise that? You need apple chargers, apple itunes, apple mp3’s, apple docks, apple *everything* but the breaking point is the earbuds?
Come on give me a break…
absolutely concur with the first posting. was just gonna write essentially the same thing.
boohoo.
It wouldn’t be that big of a deal, if Apple could make a decent set of earbuds.
For me, yes, that is the breaking point. I don’t mind using iTunes, it works just fine despite what some people say. And just for the record, you don’t need Apple MP3s or docks for the Shuffle, or any other iPod. I use Amazon when I purchase songs, and it integrates seamlessly into iTunes.
The breaking point is the earbuds because I WON’T WEAR EARBUDS (take note Apple). I use my Shuffle for jogging and at the gym, earbuds piss me off to no end, and I have a perfectly fine set of headphones for running and such. Plus I don’t want the damn thing to talk to me. By the time the robotic voice has belted out the song I’ll have figured it out for myself by the first few tunes, and I’ll have said “ok great” or skipped to the next song. Stupid and unnecessary, for me at least. And the old Shuffle worked great for skipping songs and adjusting volume.
Apple broke a cardinal rule – when its not broke, don’t innovate for the sake of innovation and screw everything up that worked so well before.
Seriously, don’t buy it if you don’t like it. You have other choices that even have displays. My wife loves her little Sansa and it works just fine. This new shuffle looks ridiculously slick but no one is forcing anyone to buy the thing. For god’s sake find something worthwhile to whine about.
I noticed this at first, but I think it’s no big deal. Either Apple will release a $19 headphone adaptor or you’ll see plenty from the usual 3rd parties – Griffin, Kennsington, Belkin, Monster. Besides which, most people who purchase a Shuffle either (a) use it for exercise or other activities where they don’t use their better headphones or (b) just use the stock Apple earphones and really don’t care. People who are more fussy about headphones use a fancier iPod or an iPhone.
I use mine for jogging and earbuds constantly get pulled out of my ears. I have a good (in the sense they’re not terribly expensive but work just great for jogging) set of headphones I use. And the last thing I’m going to do after buying a cheap Shuffle is spend more money on an adapter. The great appeal is its relatively inexpensive and simple, easy to work while you’re jogging, and it has a great battery.
You try jogging using apple’s headphones. IMHO they are a design fail. They need a controller dongle adaptor before I replace my shuffle with a new one
The technology is amazing, but Apple has made some decisions here that are odd at best and more likely just plain bizarre. I like by 2nd gen Shuffle, but I would have taken a good look at a new model with a screen and a price of say, $50 for 4g — certainly not $80! A screen makes much more sense than headphone controls and a voiceover mechanism. Sure, third-party phones and earbuds will materialize, but I’ve already got more than I need.
I bought a Sansa Clip recently, complete with screen, FM radio, a useful recording capability and it works with drag and drop on any Mac. That’s the direction Apple should have gone in with the Shuffle.
There is a way around this. I’m not an audiophile however I enjoy my comfort. I use the standard iPod earbuds but I had custom molds taken of my ears so that my iPod earbuds snap into these molds and then I put the mold into my ear which fits perfectly. There isn’t anything more comfortable then a custom mold. I purchased the iPod attachments at Earsound. http://www.earsound.com An unintended benefit is that I was able to use my custom mold with my cell phone’s hands free device.
The kind of person that would buy the $79 iPod Shuffle isn’t the kind of person that uses anything other than the stock Apple earbuds. If you want to use your expensive shure headphones then why not spend the extra cash on a superior iPod? Like the iPod Nano? Or you could always grab one of the previous gen iPod Shuffles while they are still available on Apples website (and they’re only like $60 now).
Decaf…nuff said
Some third-party manufacturers will probably be able to come up with an equivalent controller connector of some sort.
The question is, will Apple allow it?
Yes, ofcourse, as long as they implant the DRM chip they need in all apple ‘approved’ extensions. It’s just monolithic lock in behavior that everyone raves about. If Microsoft would have done this with the zune, everyone would have ranted and sued, but the Big A just gets away with it. *how* does that work?
Umm, Apple themselves have said that they are going to sell an adapter for people who want to use 3rd party headphones. Doesn’t make the whole “controls on the headphone cable with one button” bullshit any less dumb, though.
Although I’m happy to see the new ipod Shuffle’s expanded capacity and smaller design I have to say that I’m not happy with the lack of consideration in design for the ipods more active users.
By placing the only method of control on the headphones (only inches from the ear) you have made this latest ipod a hassle to use for runners, cyclists, and other sports enthusiasts. The earphone control buttons don’t work when it’s the least bit cold outside. the bi-metal switch contracts and then no-longer works. Also, since the buttons are so close to the ear sweat becomes an issue. The wire likes to hang very close to the neck, sweat runs down the neck and the wire and into the controller rendering it inoperable! The reason active people like the small form factor is because it is relatively unobtrusive while working out. moving the controls to the wire has made the simple task of adjusting volume or skipping tracks a MAJOR pain! Try locating a wire thats bouncing around while your jogging, cycling, or just about any other “in motion” activity. It’s not easy, and quickly becomes a distracting annoyance!
I don’t know why Apple seems to ignore the active segment of users. Simple additions like water, shock and temperature resilience certainly seems like something that is well within Apples capacity to deliver. Other products like cameras have managed to achieve this with little affect to the cost … why cant Apple? Im tired of replacing these ipods and headphones because they are so delicate.
I would like Apple to seriously consider these thoughts when re-designing a NEW product. I recently bought a ipod Shuffle 2nd gen. after ruining a 3rd gen. shuffle on a few training runs for the colorado marathon. After the experience with the 3rd gen shuffle I wanted to be sure to have the control surface closer to my hands … and not bouncing around on a wire near my head!