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iPod Shuffle On The Way Out Already?
An anonymous reader writes "A CNN Money article, of all things, talks about the reasons Apple might have for getting rid of the iPod shuffle." From the article: "The shuffle may not be long for this world. The tiny MP3 player, a favorite of gym-goers, is cheap at $129, but lacks a screen. It may soon be replaced by a 1-gigabyte version of the iPod nano, according to UBS analyst Ben Reitzes. Currently, the smallest nano has 2 gigabytes of storage, enough for about 500 songs, and costs $199."
I haven't changed the music on my player in months. It takes AA batteries, and I swap them off the charger after about 60 hours of play time. I can recharge my player in about 20 seconds and I haven't bought new batteries for it since I got it a year ago.
btw, Rayovac's 15-minute rechargables are awesome batteries.
3. iTunes is an excellent music management program, far superior to the Zen's software.
My Samsung MP3 player has a great music management program: I select the files in Windows Explorer that I want, right click, and "Send To" the player that is listed as a removable drive.
My only complaint is that the player doesn't seem to read the files in any particular order. Of course, I haven't taken the time to read the documentation to see why that is and if its behavior can be changed...but it does seperate folders, so that all my ripped albums stay grouped.
120 characters for a sig? That's bloody useless.
Nano's are fragile. VERY fragile
The Nano might not be as fragile as you think.
If you don't need a screen, why have one? It just adds weight, size, complexity and cost. The main reason to keep the suffle is sound quality. It has the best amp of any portable mp3 player. http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1777890,00.as p
-- these are only opinions and they might not be mine.
...why people insist on speding the kind of jack on an MP3 player that iPod owners do.
My wife wanted some kind of music player for working out. I found just what she needed: a SanDisk m260. 4GB flash memory, earbuds, strap, case, some software. Uses a standard AAA battery you can actually replace easily (unlike the $40 battery and removal tool I had to buy for my daughter's iPod Mini, which isn't holding it's charge after six months).
Sale price at local retailer: $150.
The sound is great and I've already dropped 330 MP3 files on it and still have 2.7 GB left to fill. It requirs no software: you plug it into an USB port and the OS sees it as a removeable drive, so you can just drag and drop files on it all day. This allows it work with any OS, including Linux (which I use) and that other system on her laptop.
Is watching video on a 2-inch screen really worth all that money? And, no, I don't work for SanDisk.
Joe Dougherty, Florida, USA
The words I thought I brought, I left behind. So, never mind.
I've told you twice now that the touch sensors for the DISPLAY can be overlayed above the plastic. What is so hard to understand about that? Here, I'll even draw you a little ASCII diagram:There's nothing magical in the LCD that makes the touch sensors work. Just in case that's not percolating, there's nothing magical in the LCD that makes the touch sensors work. The sensors that make a touch screen work are overlayed on top of the screen or whatever protection it uses to protect the screen. There are even touch keypads that allow you to punch in numbers through thick glass. (This is used in some security systems to prevent access to the keypad itself, while still allowing the owner to punch in his code by just tapping at the glass.)
Now go stand in the corner and read how touch screens work.
Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
FYI, you can get an iPod battery through Other World Computing for as low as $14.99 (depending on the model of your iPod).
I used them to replace the battery in my old iPod to give to my sister, and it's not very difficult to change out the battery. They provide everything that you need to open the iPod without damaging it (basically, two nylon tools). My model required unscrewing one of the logic board screws, to free the connecting wire, and they do not provide a small screwdriver, but you could pick that up for under $3 at your local hardware store, if you don't already have one. IIRC, it took me less than 10 minutes to open it up, put the battery in, and close it up. (I'm not as quick as the guy who did their instructional videos on how to change the battery, who does this in about 2 minutes.)
Or you can have them replace the battery for you, for $39 plus the cost of the battery. (This includes the cost of FedEx Overnight both ways, and they state a 72 hour turn-around time, including the time the iPod is in transit.)
Details on this can be found here: http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/ipod/batteryreplace ment/
I have a Nano, and have absolutely no protection for it except the little leather-esque sleeve Apple now ships with them (they didn't come with the earlier shipments though).
I carry my Nano daily in the little pocket (match pocket, watch pocket) in my jeans, use it almost daily sitting out in a wood/metal shop (scenery shop at a theater), and it has no real scratches on it thus far, although it does collect dust.
No screen cracking, a few small scratches near the connector, but none near the screen which is especially telling as I have one of the infamous Black Nanos.
Shawn's Tech Articles
Actually, there is right now both the 1 GB iPod nano (with screen) abd 1 GB and 512 MB iPod shuffles ,.. with big price drops.
So the shuffles stayed for at least now.