The First Invisible MP3 Player

It’s tempting, when writing about Apple’s new third-generation iPod Shuffle, to veer in the direction of the whimsical, and keep there. You would possibly evaluate the tiny participant to varied different tiny objects, or theorize that the following Shuffle would be the measurement of a Tylenol, and even carry out silly Shuffle methods equivalent to stuffing one inside a Pez Dispenser. This isn’t going to be that sort of overview. I discovered this participant unexpectedly attention-grabbing, and there’s quite a bit to speak about past its lack of weight problems.

When Apple updates different iPod fashions, the change is normally about two issues: higher options (equivalent to the larger iPods’ addition of video) and slicker industrial design (such because the Nano’s evolution from a blocky plastic gadget to a gracefully curved steel one). The Shuffle is essentially completely different–it’s on a observe of ever-decreasing measurement and ever-increasing minimalism. What Apple would really like, I believe, is for the Shuffle to be invisible. Not within the ha-ha method of SNL’s iPod Invisa, however within the sense that the music issues and the gadget itself is type of irrelevant. The brand new model takes a significant leap in that path, and never simply because Apple shrunk its measurement by nearly fifty p.c.

In fact, it’s not possible to disregard the truth that the corporate did shrink the case, a lot in order that there’s not a lot room left for ornamentation. The $79 third-generation Shuffle has a considerably stark persona that’s a shift from the candy-colored exuberance of the second-generation model. It’s a easy aluminum rectangle–obtainable in silver or black–that accommodates 4GB of reminiscence, sufficient for about 1,000 songs. Any panache comes from the Apple logo-engraved clip on one facet.

You already know a gadget is on the smallish measurement when it’s dwarfed by its personal USB cable–regardless that that cable is the shortest one you’ve ever seen.

However the factor in regards to the new Shuffle is that you simply simply gained’t give it some thought that a lot. Aside from the music, iPods are about consumer interfaces. And apart from a battery gentle (Apple charges battery life at ten hours on a cost, down from twelve hours for the final Shuffle) and a tiny swap that allows you to set the Shuffle to shuffle songs, play them sequentially, or energy down, the Shuffle’s interface isn’t on the sliver of aluminum itself. You can also make a case that the “iPod” within the new iPod Shuffle is made up of two issues:  the brand new text-to-speech system that helps you navigate your music, and the tiny distant management that Apple has embedded within the earbud wire.

Once I first learn in regards to the exterior distant, I considered it nearly as a cheat: Apple made the brand new Shuffle smaller partially by shifting the buttons off the gadget itself. Actually, the transfer has some sensible worth. Placing a lot of the controls on the distant pod means which you could put the Shuffle just about anyplace you need to, with out worrying about whether or not you may get at it. (I’m in chilly, wet Austin for the South by Southwest convention in the mean time, and after I went out for a stroll tonight I simply stuffed the Shuffle as deep into my overcoat as it might go.)

As seen within the above picture, the distant sits on the cable surprisingly close to the correct earbud; after I put on the earbuds, it’s at chin degree, roughly. I felt foolish at first reaching as much as it to navigate my music. (Take notice, subway riders: From this second on, tugging at one’s proper earbud wire will function a lifeless giveaway as to who’s listening to a brand new Shuffle.) However putting it so excessive finally is smart, as a result of it just about ensures that the controls will stay accessible even when the Shuffle is tucked right into a winter coat or looped behind you right into a backpack.

How does it work? The plus signal and minus signal modify the amount. And every little thing else is managed by the indentation within the center. Press it as soon as to pause the music; twice to skip to the following observe; thrice to go to the final observe; press and maintain to listen to the artist and music title; press twice and maintain to fast-forward; press thrice and maintain to fast-reverse. Oh, and press it and maintain for a very long time, and the Shuffle begins studying the names of your playlists; launch it if you hear the one you need to choose it. (That is the primary Shuffle to help Playlists, or, for that matter, any type of music navigation apart from “play every little thing so as” and the eponymous “shuffle every little thing.”)

If the earlier paragraph left you confused and/or horrified, I perceive: Conceptually, utilizing one button to do nearly every little thing sounds nightmarish. In actuality, I used to be startled by how intuitive it was. I learn the Shuffle’s directions as soon as, and my fingers just about remembered what to do to supply the outcomes I needed.

The distant’s design helps: You always remember which nub will increase the amount and which one decreases it, and your finger can discover the indentation between them with none fiddling. It’s doable to overlook that Apple deliberately designed the distant so that you can’t see it if you’re utilizing it. Which additionally provides to the brand new Shuffle’s really feel of invisibility.

Discuss Present

Then there’s VoiceOver, which is Apple’s identify for the Shuffle’s text-to-speech music navigation. While you sync music onto the Shuffle from the brand new iTunes 8.1, the audio information the participant wants to talk every observe’s artist and title journey all the way down to the participant, too. I used iTunes on OS X 10.5 Leopard, and bought what’s reportedly a higher-quality voice (a male one) than the one you’ll hear for those who use Home windows or an earlier model of OS X. It sounded a tad mechanical however fully comprehensible–the one apparent mispronunciation it made was when it talked about the just lately departed jazz chanteuse Blossom Dearie, whom it known as Blossom De-AH-rie. And the voice’s utter incapacity to emphasise the phrases in music titles to convey their emotional gist is…sort of endearing, truly.

VoiceOver tries to establish the language songs are in and pronounce titles and artists correctly: The whole lot I listened to by Antonio Carlos Jobim and/or Astrud Gilberto was spoken by a distinct, feminine voice. I can’t say I’m an excellent decide of Portuguese accents, however I did discover that she pronounced “Jobim” incorrectly.

When the primary Shuffle debuted in 2005, its lack of a show was a supply of controversy, to not point out predictions that it might flop; by the point the second-generation model confirmed up, it was a defining function of the participant. VoiceOver goes a great distance in the direction of compensating for the restrictions imposed by the Shuffle’s screenless design. For the primary time, you’ll be able to establish songs you don’t instantly acknowledge, and the truth that the Shuffle can now communicate is the one factor that makes playlist help doable.

Nevertheless it’s essential to grasp that VoiceOver can’t do every little thing a show can. The Shuffle’s 4GB of reminiscence could possibly maintain 1,000 songs, however finding a selected music should still be near-impossible, even for those who’re prepared to press a button as few hundred occasions within the course of. The Shuffle nonetheless can’t kind all of the songs it accommodates in alphabetical order,  it nonetheless doesn’t perceive the idea of albums, and it solely is aware of sufficient about artists to inform you who’s performing the present music. In all instances, playlists present a workaround, since you’ll be able to order a playlist alphabetically, or create a playlist that consists of the contents of a selected album or all of your songs by a cetain artist.

Might Apple have offered extra music navigation options? Not with out complicating the Shuffle’s distant; it already inbuilt all of the performance it might with out asking customers to recollect too many arcane mixtures of urgent and press-and-holding. I’m curious whether or not future Shuffles will rethink the distant so as to add extra performance, although.

All in all, although, the mix of the distant and VoiceOver is surprisingly profitable. The Shuffle remains to be geared toward individuals who need to hearken to music with out a number of fuss–possibly whereas exercising or performing different duties for which a fancier iPod could be too cumbersome and sophisticated. Nevertheless it not feels fairly a lot like a teensy bucket of unorganized, unidentified tracks.

(Facet notice: The second time I attempted to sync my new Shuffle, I bought an error message in iTunes telling me that the Shuffle didn’t have sufficient room for the speech information required by VoiceOver…and the error endured even after I tried to wipe all of the music off the participant. I then carried out a restore of the Shuffle’s software program, and the glitch disappeared.)

The Matter of Headphones

Generally it looks like each Apple product has a “Sure, however…” challenge–a design choice that some individuals regard as an outrage and a dealbreaker. Take into account, for example, the brand new MacBook’s lack of FireWire, or the 17-inch MacBook Professional’s sealed battery. Or extra to the purpose, the brand new Shuffle’s incapacity to work out of the field with customary headphones, because it requires the embedded distant to regulate your music.

So far as I can inform, there are two sorts of iPod homeowners on the planet: Those that use Apple’s inventory earbuds with out giving it a lot thought, and those that detest them, both as a result of they discover them uncomfortable or as a result of they slip out. In at the very least some instances, I believe the haters are counting on dangerous reminiscences of earlier Apple headphones–there was a time when customary iPod headphones made my ears sting. For what it’s value, those that include the Shuffle sounded good, stayed in, and had been pain-free.

That’s not sufficient to fulfill severe followers of third-party headphones equivalent to Shure’s sound-isolating fashions, in fact. Apple says there shall be third-party adapters to let any headphones work, and headphone producers are already saying Shuffle-compatible fashions. Which is nice information, I assume, for anybody who finds the brand new Shuffle seductive however who has a visceral dislike of Apple earbuds. Though it’s nonetheless unclear what you’ll do if you wish to hearken to the brand new Shuffle over your automobile stereo or by one of many ubiquitous speaker docks that work with each different iPod ever made.

Me, I’d stick to the headphones within the field: Having to grapple with an adapter or spring for particular headphones–a few of which price greater than the participant itself–feels prefer it violates the spirit of the brand new Shuffe’s minimalist enchantment.

Then once more, you need to wonder if Apple’s subsequent transfer shall be to easily construct the Shuffle into its personal earbuds. This new mannequin is already smaller than some Bluetooth headsets; if the corporate was in a position to shave off a bit extra heft, it would construct an iPod that tucked behind one in all your ears, counting on the brand new embedded distant and speech synthesis for its consumer interface.

Like I say, the corporate’s objective with the Shuffle appears to be to make it invisible. The third-generation Shuffle doesn’t full the job, and it positively isn’t for everyone. (iLounge thinks it’s the worst iPod ever, by far; if you wish to spend $79 for a way more conventional 4GB participant–with a show, but!–take into account SanDisk’s Sansa Clip.) However in its personal stripped-down means, it’s probably the most strikingly ingenious new iPod because the iPhone. I’ll be fascinated to see whether or not its distinctly completely different method to nearly every little thing you thought you knew about MP3 gamers is smart to the individuals it’s geared toward.

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