*Please pardon the un-styled mess why I am rethinking and re-designing my blog!*
So its not really ‘small talk’ that apples newest product has been released. I seem to have some strong opinions on this new little dewhicky! Sound off in the comments and let me know what you think of this new iPod shuffle.
Let me state this first: I’m all about innovation in product design. But also let me say this: Design conventions exist for a reason!!! Just as websites with strange or unintuitive navigation don’t succeed I dont think this new iPod will be looked on favorably. I think that removing the controls from the device will hinder the usability of the product.
Apple probably sees this as a ‘revolutionary step in technology’ much like when they removed the cd drive from the mac book air (hey im all about innovation…i own a nice little wee netbook!!!) But removing something as essential as the DEVICE CONTROLS…is not revolutionary…its just…well…stupid. Im my opinion that is!
I know that 3rd party headphones will come out with controls, but apple will probably ship these new nanos with thier craptastic headphones. Dont think they are crappy? Walk outside when its just barely raining and wait until the headphones SHOCK your ears!
This irks me the most. To me, talking to your electronics not only makes you feel stupid, but it annoys the HELL out of other people. Much like people talking on their cell phones anywhere and everywhere. I don’t want to hear people talking to their ipods on the subway. We have enough crazy people in this city (Boston) that talk to themselves!! On the other hand I think that speech recognition is cool yada yada yada and all that stuff.
Oops…looks like I misread something. Still, I find the talking feedback from the Nike+ thing annoying… 
Sound off in the comments and let me know what you think of this new iPod shuffle. I’d like to get a good discussion going on!
[30] Comments
Posted in All Things Apple, Boston, design, technology, Web 2.OH
[...] WTF Apple? A Rant About The New iPod Shuffle [...]
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Benjamin Falk says:
I agree with most of what you said… having the controls built into the headphones doesn’t seem to make much sense to me.
However, I think your “I Don’t Want To Hear People Talking To Their Electronics!!!” paragraph is off — have you watched the intro video that Apple put together? As far as I can tell, the device talks to you, telling you song info or current playlists, you don’t talk to it.
March 11th, 2009 at 4:05 pm
Liz says:
I’m with you on most of your points. To tell you the truth, I haven’t been impressed with ANYTHING Apple has come up with since the iPhone. (and even that i think is over hyped)
I really cannot stand those apple headphones and when i see people using them, it makes me believe that they don’t care about music at all – cause those headphones sound like POOP.
It feels to me similar to the Air, where you eliminate so much functionality for the sake of either aesthetics or for the cult of “tiny” that you end up making a sub-par product and don’t people go to Apple to get premium products?
I dunno…
March 11th, 2009 at 4:10 pm
Dickie says:
One word: accessories
I would be surprised if we don’t see several announcements over the next few days with 3rd party headphones and the built-in button system. Then, I’m guessing we’ll see this available for the rest of the iPod and iPhone series.
March 11th, 2009 at 4:10 pm
John Leschinski says:
I agree, this is silly at best. A device that is useless without the crappy earbuds, or an expensive third party solution, is not a device worth having.
I don’t believe you can talk to this iPod though. The Talk part is it telling you the song information, not voice recognition controls.
March 11th, 2009 at 4:12 pm
Tim Pennington says:
I hate the headphones personally. I’m not sure whether it’s about the fact that usability is down to 1%, or whether it’s the economic reason.
If I was to buy these headphones and use them, as I do with all my iPods, to their death (which is about 4 weeks), then I’d have to pay for unique, Apple only, £50 headphones each time. It annoys me enough that any iPod headphones are £19 for just a bit of wire and covering, so imagine what it’ll be like constantly buying headphones worth the same as the MP3!?
Maybe it’s just a stupid theory, but I’m wondering whether Apple are trying to kill off their whole competition by introducing unique headphones. That way they’ll have to set the standard for the MP3 and headphone industry.
I know I’m not making sense, but I can finally say what I’m thinking!
Love the technology about it though, and will probably test it out at the Apple Store, if not get a cheap one off eBay, but it’s not the best Apple product ever (best being new 24″ iMac!)
March 11th, 2009 at 4:28 pm
Mike says:
I’m okay with the talking thing – it’s a step up from no feedback from the device.
I agree that Apple’s earbuds are less than stellar. They do sound better than most headphones included with devices, but they don’t fit in my ears properly, so I almost never use them. I use a pair of Sonys, which fit properly and sound better.
I’m also not clear what the benefit of having the controls on the headphone cable is. If I’m exercising, I’m likely to pull out the earbud on that side if I try to use the controls.
Overall, I see this as an intermediate stage for the iPod Shuffle.
March 11th, 2009 at 4:37 pm
Nathan Roberts says:
What if you want to plug into an external source, presumably you would need to purchase a dock / control lead to be able to do this…hmmmm
March 11th, 2009 at 4:38 pm
Prescott Perez-Fox says:
I agree, removing the buttons is absurd! Considering the smallness of buttons on Blackberries and similar devices, they could have put them on. And besides, I don’t think anyone complained the previous Shuffle was too big. It was the perfect size for the control “circle” and a clip.
I don’t understand this one and I hope that my 2G Shuffle will last for a long time.
March 11th, 2009 at 4:48 pm
Bobby says:
I think you’re all missing the point. This is a small, cheap mp3 player for working out. If you want something with a lot of features buy a different ipod. These are made to be disposable. The product talking to you is their solution to the user having no idea what song they’re listening to since the shuffle has never had a display. Having the controls attached to the headphones also makes sense because when you’re jogging you’re going to have this thing clipped to your jacket or in a pocket, it’ll be easiest to find the cord since its right next to your head. Anyway, don’t know why you’re complaining, since I bet none of you will even buy this thing. I know I’m not.
March 11th, 2009 at 5:12 pm
Brandon says:
I’m pretty much getting more an more frustrated with apple these days. First the removal of firewire from their Macbook and now the removal of controls from the shuffle?!?!??! All I have to say it stupid and stupid!
What if you didn’t want to use headphones at all with this device? What if you want to plug it into your car?!?! How am I going to tell it to play anything or pause? and I certainly will NOT buy a 3rd party cable to go between the shuffle and my car stereo!
Apple removes some of the dumbest things from their products in an attempt to think out of the box… but it really puts you into an even smaller one.
March 11th, 2009 at 5:38 pm
Brandon says:
What do you have in store next Apple? Pretty soon you are going to ask us to embed this thing under our skin and control it with electrical impulses from our brian. I mean really… how small is small enough… and how to expect to negate the rudimentary controls?
March 11th, 2009 at 5:44 pm
Mark says:
I’m with Bobby. This is not such a retarded invention. This thing is made working out. When you’re working out, you don’t want a big bulky iPhone-like device with you. It has to be as small as possible, and all you need is some tunes on the treadmill..
If you’re a music junkie, you’ll buy something else, like a regular iPod, or if you want more than just music, buy a Touch or iPhone.
I was expecting a way different approach on this from you, as a runner Niki…
March 11th, 2009 at 6:45 pm
Ashley says:
Have to agree with Bobby and Mark. IF I worked out (and this is a big if) I’d totally get this. Seems light, small, and easy to use. Plus…you don’t see too many runners with huge headphones on.
March 11th, 2009 at 9:09 pm
Brian Sexton says:
As someone else pointed out, the new iPod shuffle talks to you, not the other way around. Well, you can talk to it all you like, but you can also talk to a wall, a piece of furniture, or a bowl of soup.
Dubious usability aside, doesn’t it seem odd that Apple’s least expensive iPod will now *REQUIRE* more expensive headphones than any of the more expensive iPod models?
March 12th, 2009 at 3:55 am
Sebas van den Brink says:
I agree wholeheartedly. I have an “old” Shuffle and it already irks me sometimes for simply lacking a display. And *talking* to your apparatii? Come on… in the future, to your PC, but not in the bus, to your cellphone or anything. That’s just annoying and it makes you look like an escaped mental patient.
March 12th, 2009 at 4:31 am
Patrick says:
What I laugh at is the massive amount of people who flock to Apples new wares. I always allow others to test and give feedback before ever looking at anything Apple because I find most times the second or third generation is usually better.
March 12th, 2009 at 5:58 am
Daniel Matthews says:
I agree with pretty much all of that, this was a douchey thing to do.
But the problem is, apple doesn’t really care about servicing it’s devices to third parties, they like to keep their hardware in lock down, because let’s face it…to much third party meddling and it can ruin a device, this is partly why windows is so messed up.
“Those who are serious about software run their own hardware” i believe is the quote, and although it doesn’t really DIRECTLY apply to the shuffle, you can see the connection.
Even the third party wares that apple does allow, they keep tight control over it, a lá the app store…
Basically what i’m saying is: We can bitch and moan all we want but apple is in lockdown, and people are going to buy their stuff wether or not it supports third party headphones, controllers or anything.
March 12th, 2009 at 7:14 am
Justin says:
What I really don’t understand is: with the size of the controls on the headphones, why couldn’t they build that onto the device itself??
I don’t mind the controls ALSO being on the headphones. Although, if I’m out for a jog (hah, that’s funny..) taking the chance of yanking out my earbuds is not something I really want to do.
In addition, I concur with your assessment of the ‘craptastic’ quality of the Apple earbuds. I dig most things from Apple, but this is surely not one of my ‘top ten things to fund Steve Jobs with’.
March 12th, 2009 at 7:16 am
David Link says:
Yeah, I think the last version of the shuffle was a little better designed. Controls ON the device are a much better solution. I do like the size and shape of this one though.
@Liz : I’m going to disagree with you about the headphones. While they may not be the BEST quality headphones available, they don’t sound like poop. And just because someone isn’t an audiophile doesn’t mean they don’t care about music. People buy iPods because they’re great devices. Not everyone can shell out another $100-$450 for a really great pair of headphones.
March 12th, 2009 at 7:18 am
kyle steed says:
I think this is a bad idea from Apple. Not sure why they decided to go so far out in left field and remove the controls off the iPod completely. It’s as if they think they can just force people in to accepting their “newest” invention.
Whatever.
I think if a product works well then great, that’s why they have succeeded in the mp3-player and smart-phone markets so well, because the iPod and iPhone are so wonderfully easy to use. But throwing this wrench in the works doesn’t make me run out screaming to get my hands on one. In fact I’m completely happy with my 4 year old shuffle (you remember the one that they showed next to a pack of Juicy Fruit, yeah that’s the one). It’s still freaking tiny and I have all the controls I know and love right there for me to control my music.
So put that in your new shuffle pipe and smoke it Apple.
March 12th, 2009 at 7:25 am
freddygirl says:
It’s a shuffle… i mean, i never use the controls on my existing shuffle. i just put it on “shuffle” and get on the treadmill. so i don’t have issues with removing the controls from the unit itself. but i agree. the earphones are terrible and I never use them. not so much a quality of music thing (again… the treadmill) but rather a they won’t stay in my ears thing.
March 12th, 2009 at 9:44 am
Lodro Rigdzin says:
I’m a blind user of iPods, and I think it is quite amazing that there finally is a mainstream electronics product that is fully accessible to blind users. Amazon’s Kindle, where text to speech is in danger of being crippled and where the device is not accessible otherwise is a case in point.
March 12th, 2009 at 11:55 am
Sarah says:
While I think it looks beautiful, I’m with you on this. I think there is definitely a way to include the few buttons they do have on the player itself, mot moving them to the earphone. Plus, with something this small, I am definitely going to lose it in less than a week. Pass for me!
March 12th, 2009 at 12:01 pm
Brian Sexton says:
I understand opposition to low-quality headphones, overpriced low-quality headphones (due to the inclusion of the controls), little choice (at least initially) of overpriced low-quality headphones, and non-obvious controls, but why worry about yanking out headphones because the controls happen to be on those headphones? If you can handle the controls on a tiny device that is clipped somewhere while you exercise, reaching to a part of the cable anchored to that device on one end and your ears on the other is not much of a stretch.
People tend to pause their workouts to change their music or adjust their volume anyway. If they haven’t pre-configured their playlists and had their levels balanced, that is.
If you lack the coordination to manage controls on a headphone cable during a workout or a jog (and you don’t want to risk losing your momentum or rhythm by pausing for a couple seconds or so), you probably aren’t accustomed to using your body for a workout or a jog. If you exercise a bit more often, you may find that you get to know and control your body a bit better.
If you are particularly concerned about stopping because of the risk of being overtaken by zombies, you might consider using a full-size old-style iPod. It would be a little heavier, but you could throw it at the zombies then quicken your jog into a run.
March 12th, 2009 at 12:13 pm
Eva Vesper says:
Wait? there are no buttons? WTF? Those things are going to get lost faster than a stick of gum.
March 13th, 2009 at 6:29 am
Trent Wood says:
Bobby, you have an excellent point. I bought a shuffle to travel with. Not to have the functionality of building playlists and watching movies. I bought it for music. However, I strongly disagree with the removal of the buttons. If apple wanted to design earphones which communicate with the iPod, that’s great. Market them as workout headphones. I feel like Apple is compromising design for function and taking into consideration the increase in revenues due to their earphones. I want the ability to click to a new song if I’m tired of the current one. I don’t want to have to grab my earphone cable while I’m bustling through the city since the cable runs under my jacket (a safe place in crowds). I want to be able to feel for the button on the ipod in my pocket.
In trying to make the world a better place one design at a time,
Trent
March 13th, 2009 at 9:02 am
Me says:
WTF is right.
3rd party dongle will simply put the controls right near the shuffle where they should be in the first place.
Many have quality earbuds/headphones that are already more expensive than the shuffle. We’re not going to pay much money for inferior sound.
Once again Apple, WTF?
March 13th, 2009 at 5:37 pm
iRun says:
I think it is great – I don’t have time to fiddle with controls. Have you ever tried to reach into your pocket while jogging? It throws off balance. This is simple, more accessible, and revolutionary – all for $79.
Thanks Apple, for knowing your audience!
March 14th, 2009 at 10:28 am
kafka says:
I support all of the above. having to use the apple headphones, the little controls, and the apple headphones all make this product not very appealing. One can only hope that my current shuffle will survive the next year until dear apple would release another shuffle with improved UI.
good post.
March 15th, 2009 at 9:53 am