While Apple has had such a major success with its iPod and iPod mini series, they are still determined to grab the remaining consumers on a budget who cannot afford the more expensive models with the introduction of its new iPod shuffle. This player comes in a choice of two sizes - 512MB with a 120 song capacity and 1GB with a 240 song capacity. Unlike its iPod mini or regular series, both players use solid state flash memory.
As many consumers have a music collection of over 512MB (or 1GB), Apple have come out with a new patent-pending feature called AutoFill. As the name says, this automatically selects random songs from the user's music library to fill the player. The iPod shuffle has a switch on the back to change between shuffled playback and standard order playback. Several optional accessories are also available for the iPod shuffle including an armband, weatherproof clear case, dock (for MAC/PC connection) and a power pack. The player features a 12 hour battery life which can be extended by a further 20 hours using the optional power pack accessory with 2 AAA batteries.
Apple has sold over 10 million iPod players since it introduced the first player and still remains the world's best selling player. The iPod shuffle series is now shipping with retail prices of $99 for the 512MB version and $149 for the 1GB version. Its optional accessories are expected to start shipping in the next few weeks with a retail price of $29 for each item.
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iPod shuffle is based on iPod's pioneering and widely-used shuffle feature, which randomly selects songs from the user's music library or playlists. In addition, iPod shuffle works seamlessly with iTunes® and its innovative new patent-pending AutoFill feature, which automatically selects the perfect number of songs to fill iPod shuffle from a user's complete music library on their computer. And at any time, with a flip of a switch on the back of iPod shuffle, users can choose to listen to their music in order rather than shuffled, perfect for listening to a favorite new album. Read the full article here. Technical Specifications
For full specifications and further info in the player, see the Apple iPod shuffle's webpage here. |
Even though Apple has done exceptionally well with sales on its iPod series, it looks like they are now competing with even the low cost flash based MP3 players that usually hold under 1GB. Even still, 120 songs are enough to keep one going for several hours without having to listen to a same song twice.
It is also nice to see Apple finally offering a feature to extend the players battery life. It can be annoying to head out on a long journey only to find the player's battery is flat and no AC outlet is available. However with the power pack, one could pop into any convenience store, grab a pack of AAA batteries and take off again and continue listening to their music. Unfortunately it is still likely that one has to send their player off to Apple once the Internal battery finally gives up.
However even this player does have a few drawbacks. Firstly it has no screen, which means with 240 tracks on its 1GB version, finding a particular song could be a pretty tedious process. Finally, as no iPod yet features a radio, those looking for a radio feature may still turn to a competitor.
Feel free to discuss and find out more about the iPod on our Audio Forum.
Source: Yahoo Financial News
