The New iPod Shuffle
The little music player that made it a feature to not know what song would play next is back in its new avatar. Shorter, wider and thinner, the the kid iPod sibling is growing up. The new iPod Shuffle is here.
We all got a glimpse of the new Shuffle at the September media event, where Steve Jobs debuted the new iPod lineup. Usually events like that were followed by a reopening of the online Apple store with the new products available to buy immediately. Not this time- the Shuffle took many weeks to finally appear in stores, online and offline. Starting tomorrow, you can buy one for yourself.
The new Shuffle features an aluminum design and a nifty clip to wear your music. This 1GB flash-based player costs $79 comes with a dock to replenish its battery and its music collection. The iPod nano starts at $149 and so the Shuffle fills a huge void in the iPod lineup, both in terms of price and size. It just isn’t always comfortable to work out with a regular iPod or a nano.
The Shuffle comes in at a 1.62 inch height, a 1.07 inch width and 0.41 inch depth- that depth includes the clip, which makes it fatter than the iPod nano (0.26 inches). In fact, it is surprising how little difference there is in the dimensions between the latest revisions of the shuffle and the nano. The shuffle is, however, less than half the nano’s weight at 0.55 ounce.
To welcome the new Shuffle in to this world, Apple has released a minor revision of the iTunes software- this time, it is version 7.02 and in class terse, Apple fashion, we are told that in addition to support for the second generation iPod Shuffle, some stability and performance issues have been resolved.
The new iTunes version is available through iTunes’ own Update feature, Software Update on the Macintosh or from the Apple iTunes website.
The iTunes store is also growing quite dramatically in the weeks before the much hyped launch of the so-called “iPod Killer”, Microsoft’s Zune music player and Zune Marketplace. The iTunes store just added a Latino section- called iTunes Latino this week with music, audiobooks, music videos and video programs. The video content has been acquired through deals with Telemundo and the mun2 youth network. When the Zune comes to town in 2 weeks, the iPod lineup and the iTunes store collection will be at full strength.
The second generation iPod shuffle did miss its October ship date, but it will be available at Apple’s Store online for $79 with free shipping and free laser engraving.
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Comments
http://www.engadget.com/2006/11/04/thought-out-key-gives-classic-usb-action-to-your-2g-ipod-shuffle/
>You know what would be great for iTunes and iPod?
An iTunes store that sold movies and videos in Canada… I feel left out in the dark up here…
Yes, we do have electricity. <
Register on the US iTumes store with a US address of choice. Then add your CC or use gift cards. You’ll have two Apple ID’s, one for Canada and the other for US.
BTW: Loving the new shuffle. Smaller, more space, convience in the clip… Do we need all those models? Sure, do you need all those models? No, that’s why we have a choice. For most the Shuffle will work well, others prefer the Nano’s larger capacity and some want to watch videos as well as hear music.