Apple iPod shuffle 4 GB Black OLD MODEL
Wednesday, 24. March 2010
- 4 GB capacity for about 1,000 songs
- Up to 10 hours of audio on a single charge
- Ultra-compact–smaller than a AA battery
- Supports AAC (16 to 320 Kbps), Protected AAC (from iTunes Store), MP3 (16 to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR, Audible (formats 2, 3, and 4)
- 1-year limited warranty and single-incident telephone support for the first 90 days
Amazon.com Product Description
The third-generation iPod shuffle is the talk of the music world. Not just because it’s incredibly small–half the size of the previous generation. And not just because it holds up to 1,000 songs and supports multiple playlists. It’s the talk of the town because it’s the only music player in the world that talks to you. The new VoiceOver feature lets iPod shuffle tell you what song is playing and who’s performing it. It also tells you the names of your playlists. With VoiceOver–and with the controls conveniently located on the earbud cord–it’s even simpler to navigate your music. You can do it without taking your eyes off your run, your ride, or whatever you’re doing.
 The iPod shuffle 3G is the first music player that talks to you. Click to enlarge. |
The iPod shuffle 3G: The First Music Player That Talks to You
World’s Smallest Music Player
Ultra-Compact, Ultra-Sleek
Its compact, anodized aluminum design is nearly half the size of the previous iPod shuffle and smaller than a AA battery. But don’t be fooled by its diminutive nature. It might be small on the outside, but it holds a lot on the inside. With iPod shuffle now available in 4 GB capacity, you can take up to 1,000 songs with you anywhere. And with the controls located where you can quickly access them, it’s also simpler to use.
Most Wearable
The iPod shuffle comes with a brilliant stainless steel clip that lets you securely wear your music no matter where you are. Clip it to your workout gear when you’re at the gym. Clip it to your backpack or belt when you’re on the go. If you want, you can even clip it out of sight. Whether you’re walking, running, cycling, or skiing, you’ll always have your favorite songs and playlists with you.
Your Music Library to Go
Store More Music
It’s hard to believe that something so small could carry so much music. But now that the iPod shuffle has 4 GB, you have plenty of room to store up to 1,000 songs. Load up all the music you want, and hit the road for as long as you like. Slide the switch to “Shuffle,” and get ready for the most unpredictable ride of your life. Or slide the switch to “Play in Order” to hear your playlists from start to end.
Multiple Playlists
You’ve probably made multiple playlists in iTunes. You have one for your commute, another one for the gym, and then a few more for just chilling out. Now, with the iPod shuffle 3G, you can sync them all and take them wherever you go. Up to 4 GB gives you plenty of room to hold a playlist for every occasion–which means you’ll always have the perfect mix to match your activity or mood. And with VoiceOver telling you the name of each playlist, you can easily switch between them and find the one you want. You also can have audiobooks and podcasts on your iPod shuffle. Audiobooks will be place into separate playlists automatically, and podcast episodes will be grouped together in a Podcasts playlist.
 Includes Apple earbud earphones with remote and mic as well as an iPod shuffle USB cable. Click to see how controls work. |
Simple Access Controls
You’ll find controls for the new iPod shuffle in two locations. On the right earbud cord, you’ll find the controls that let you interact with your music. And on the top of the iPod shuffle, there’s a switch that lets you choose to shuffle, to play your songs in order, or to turn off your iPod shuffle.
Using the Apple Earphones with Remote
All the controls you need to interact with your music–adjusting volume, changing songs, switching playlists, and hearing song titles and artist names–are built into the Apple Earphones with Remote. You control the iPod shuffle by pressing the top, center, or bottom button on the control. This makes it simple to navigate your music and activate the VoiceOver feature, without taking your eyes off what you’re doing.
 The first time you set up VoiceOver on your computer, iTunes automatically downloads and installs the VoiceOver Kit. Click to enlarge. |
Three-Way Switch
The new iPod shuffle now has a stainless steel switch with three positions that let you choose how you want to listen to your music. Slide it to the left to shuffle your songs. Slide it to the middle to play your songs in order. Or slide it to the right to turn everything off.
Also, an LED on the top of the iPod shuffle displays such things as syncing and battery status.
Introducing VoiceOver
VoiceOver is the exciting new feature that makes iPod shuffle the first music player that talks to you. It entirely changes the way you browse and navigate your music. Say you’re listening to a song and want to know the title or the artist. With the press of a button, VoiceOver tells you–without interrupting your music. But the fun doesn’t stop with songs. For the first time ever on an iPod shuffle, you can have multiple playlists, and VoiceOver announces their names, too. So you can easily find the right mix without taking your eyes off your run, your ride, or whatever you’re doing.
How It Works
A lot of work has gone into making an iPod shuffle that not only talks, but says the right things. It all starts with iTunes and its seamless integration with iPod. iTunes reads your song information, then uses the new VoiceOver Kit to generate the announcements for the songs, artists, and playlists on your iPod shuffle. You’ll hear different voices depending on what type of computer system you use when you sync your iPod shuffle. If you sync it with a PC or with a Mac running Mac OS X Tiger, you’ll hear the English voice included in the VoiceOver Kit. And since Mac OS X Leopard already has an incredible English voice built in, that’s the one you’ll hear when you sync your iPod shuffle with a Mac running Leopard.
Multiple Languages
Your music library may have songs from all over the world–a like song from France, a bolero from Spain, a pop tune from Japan. Luckily, VoiceOver speaks in 14 languages. iTunes automatically selects the language and best voice for your song titles and artist names. It looks at song data, like the title, artist, and album information, then applies intelligent algorithms to choose the right language. For example, iTunes recognizes the song “Ya Viene el Sol” by Ozomatli as a Spanish song, so your iPod shuffle will automatically speak that song title and artist name in Spanish. If you’d prefer to hear song titles and artist names spoken in a specific language, you can change the designated VoiceOver language in iTunes. Just select one or more songs, choose Get Info from the File menu, and then select the VoiceOver language in the Options pane.
Environmental Status Report
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VoiceOver Kit
The first time you set up VoiceOver on your computer, iTunes automatically downloads and installs the VoiceOver Kit, which enables your iPod shuffle to speak in 14 different languages:
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What’s in the Box
iPod shuffle (black), Apple Earphones with Remote, iPod shuffle USB cable (1.8 inches), Quick Start guide
Hamlet Says:
It is not serious to compare a portable iPod like the Classic 120GB or some other smaller portable players with the new iPod shuffle 4GB, they are designed for completely different situations. The iPod Classic 120GB is intended for profound music lovers that need portability, the newest iPod Shuffle is ideal and truly brilliant for Gymnastics, jogging or sports in general (a majority of the people that buy this MP3 player), not for people who want to select albums and hundreds of songs or watch videos. Although brilliant I have to admit you need the new Apple pair of In-Ear Headphones with remote if you want to run, not the free Earbuds included with the iPod shuffle 4GB. Apple ought to change this poor philosophy and be more generous: the earbuds are not useful for running or doing any physical exercise. The third generation of the iPod Shuffle is the only one (useful if you choose a few favorite songs, not many) it is possible to use the Apple Lossless Encoder: best sound quality, better than AAC or MP3. The iPod designers are really courageous leaving out unnecessary features that a product like this does not need. Congratulations once more to the fearless ( heroic for conservative people) and right designers.
Deimos Says:
This IPOD is the most annoying thing Apple has ever made. The controls are beyond stupid, the voice over thing works only half the time and mostly just frustrates people myself included. The head phones are cheap junk and you can’t use any other head phones unless you want to give up all control of this small nugget. Over all this Ipod shuffle sucks. Who the hell wants to be on a bus going downtown and have some stupid small IPOD announcing your songs/playlists? If it doesen’t pi$s you off it will sure pis$ off the people your on the bus with….lame thought, give us a better IPOD please.
M. Voznyuk Says:
Just came back from the Apple Store where i was about to buy the latest iPod Shuffle, i am one of those geeks who will buy ANYTHING as long as it has an Apple logo on it and i will buy the first day it’s available for sale, one of the reasons is because i LIKE Apple gadgets, i own a Mac, Apple TV, Time Capsule and bought 5 iPods including 2 of the new generation iPod Touch and i like them!!!
I own a iPod Touch, Video and Nano, then i bought my Wife an iPod Touch and my Mom a iPod Nano.
iPod Touch is like a Laptop but much smaller and cheaper, it’s an awesome piece of technology, having all those Apps is just the icing on the cake.
So…there i am in the Apple store checking out the new iPod Shuffle, they had one open and i am glad they did because i am looking at it and i do not see any buttons, just the switch to turn it on and shuffle, so i questioned one of the associates who then told me that the controls are on the Apple headphones itself, so i say….
“Are you telling me that the Apple Headphones is my ONLY choice”
and the associates said yes.
So for the first time in more then 5 years i finished up not buying a new Apple product, here is why i didn’t:
No buttons:
Once again, there are NO BUTTONS on this iPod Shuffle, you need to have Apple’s Headphones in order to control the iPod Shuffle.
No Apple Headphones, no Music.
Apple Headphones:
Apple Headphones are among the worst headphones available on the market today, not only the sound quality is horrible but they can also easily be blown out.
Don’t take my word for it, look at all of the reviews here on Amazon and other online retailers.
And guess what happens when your Apple Headphones break, yeap…you’ll have to shell out $30 for another pair.
The worst part is that some people don’t like in ear headphones, i myself prefer the clip on headphones since the in ear headphones fall out of my ears.
Do you like those DJ style over the ear headphones or maybe behind the neck ones?
Nope, can’t have those either, you better start liking Apple’s in ear headphones.
Controls:
Controlling the playback of the iPod Shuffle can be very frustrating, here’s an example:
Quick Forward: Double click and hold the center button.
Rewind: Triple click and then hold the center button
Simple to loose:
Sure, the newest iPod Shuffle is the world’s smallest MP3 player but that can be a terrible thing and for one reason, it’s simpler to loose.
The ONLY excellent thing going for this iPod is it can tell you the name of the Artist, Song and the Playlist that’s currently playing.
That’s a nice feature IMO since there’s no screen.
I would highly recommend the previous model over this model, it’s just as nice and the best part is that get to use your own headphones and you’re not forced to buy Apple’s.
UPDATE:
I just found out that Apple will be selling an adapter that will allow to use headphones other then the Apple ones.
This is NOT an official word from Apple.
Selling, really?! Why not just include the adapter with the iPod Shuffle.
UPDATE 2:
Source: Engadget
iLounge is reporting that the new iPod shuffle can only be controlled by headphones with a special hardware authentication chip. That means that third parties will have to pay Apple for the privilege of making shuffle-compatible accessories, and you can bet they’ll just pass that cost right on to consumers — we wouldn’t expect any cheap headphone adapters or inexpensive replacement headphones for the tiniest iPod. iLounge calls this a “nightmare scenario” for iPod fans, and we’re inclined to agree — it’s one thing for Apple to require the Made For iPod certification for accessories that interface with the dock connector, but trying to lock down headphones is a sad new low, and it makes the lack of physical controls on the shuffle seem even more ridiculous. Anyone still plotting on buying this thing?
This is very shady of Apple.
Anonymous Says:
How many times have you seen people walking, running or working out with the plain ancient Apple ear buds that come with every single ipod?. Many times. I’ve seen the simple Apple ear buds many times more than I’ve seen any and all other earphones combined. Why? Because these earphones are perfectly fine for most people. This new ipod shuffle comes with headphones that work with it, headphones that most people will be pleased with. This shuffle, smaller than a stick of gum, holds 1000 songs. You would reckon that would be an incredible thing but most of the reviews here, obviously from snobs who don’t own the product, aren’t impressed by that. In fact a few people have complained that this shuffle may be too small, that they might lose it. Judging from these reviews I would say that is a certain possibility. As an alternative may I suggest a Sony Discman or possibly a portable 8-Track tape player? These same people may also have distress working the complicated controls on the headphone cord. This requires pushing a button once, twice, or 3 times quickly and sometimes holding down the button. It may be necessary to do this while walking. Chewing gum simultaneously is not recommended. May I suggest something by Fisher Price as an alternative?
Matthew the Great Says:
What was apple thinking when they made this?? Didn’t they even stop and reckon that some people might want the freedom to chose their headphones? And who really cares that the thing talks to you? Then they charge you $80 and like the other new ipods you can only load it with itunes! I didn’t buy this I just seen the ad and I saw enough…
This Ipod is defective by design!!!