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iPod Shuffle Finds Its Voice

theodp writes "Steve Jobs wasn't around to convince you that you should be impressed, but on Wednesday Apple unveiled a 4GB Shuffle that's half the size of its predecessor. Holding up to 1,000 songs, the pre-shrunk Shuffle sports a 10-hour battery life and also adds a new VoiceOver feature that can recite song titles, artists, and playlist names, as well as provide status information. Even without a show from Steve, the new player is generally leaving folks dazzled, although there are some complaints." Update: 3/14 at 14:10 by SS: Reader Mike points out some disturbing news that the new Shuffle contains DRM which, according to a review at iLounge, prevents it from fully working with any headphones that don't have an Apple "authentication chip."

8 of 379 comments (clear)

  1. Its like miracle ! by should_be_linear · · Score: 5, Funny

    I always thought how big and clumsy my Shuffle is, thank god they finally addressed this issue !

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    839*929
  2. Re:Curious by Bertie · · Score: 4, Funny

    Yeah, it's almost like the Shuffle doesn't have a screen or something.

    Oh.

  3. Re:Headphones by laurens · · Score: 3, Funny

    You can fast forward and rewind, although you need to read the manual for that ;-)

    Double-click-and-hold and triple-click-and-hold, respectively.

  4. Re:I Like It by hey! · · Score: 4, Funny

    Well, extrapolating from the trend so far, you'll be losing the next gen shuffle in your ear.

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  5. New marketing strategy by Mendenhall · · Score: 3, Funny

    OK, this is an interesting new marketing strategy for a company as a way to remove a product from their line. You don't ever have to stop selling it. You just keep halving its size until no one is sure whether they have bought one or not.

    With some good access to the RDF, everyone will continue to hear music, whether or not there was actually a device in the box.

    I still own a first generation Shuffle. I think it weighs 50 grams. Really, that's just to much to bear, carrying it in my briefcase. I know that if my briefcase only had a 10.7 gram Shuffle in it, it would be MUCH easier on my walk to work.

  6. Re:And DRM in the fucking *headphones*. by mrsquid0 · · Score: 5, Funny

    The thing that one needs to remember is that anyone, no matter who they are, who questions Apple or points out any problem with Apple's behaviour, is evil. Apple is always right. We are fortunate to be living at the same time that Apple exists.

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    Just because you are paranoid does not mean that no-one is out to get you.
  7. Re:The Voice function is innovative by Aranwe+Haldaloke · · Score: 5, Funny

    Most music already has this feature. You just gotta wait for it, and you'll even listen to it in the singer's own voice.

  8. Re:The Voice function is innovative by beetle496 · · Score: 3, Funny

    LOL! I really had to think about it for a minute to figure out how you could make such an outrageous claim.

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    I paid the going retail price for a Windows screen reader and got a free Unix computer!