iPod shuffle Gen. 3 - why I think it sucks

Initially you thought that this is pretty damn small.

Gen1 - pregnancy kit

Well they had to prove you wrong. This time round, they added a clip which is pretty darn smart and functional. It is more like a clip that plays music. Not a MP3 player with a clip.

clip

Just when you thought that they have struck design gold, they have to come up with this. Wow. Even smaller. But wait a min... where is the controls?! Well, they have fused it into the earphone cord.

stupid

Bad idea.

Now you cannot use 3rd party earphones which you like. Some mac fanboy might buy into the whole mac lifestyle. But not all of as are mac fanboys.

The new function that the 3rd gen shuffle harps about is the voiceOver. It tells you what song you are listening to. And this time round, you can create playlists. With voiceOver, they will let u choose which playlist you want to listen to.

Sounds like a good idea? Well, actually no. VoiceOver totally destroys what the iPod shuffle stands for. Their slogan 'Life is Random' pretty much sums up what the shuffle is about. The fact that at this time and age, where competitors and even your own company are pushing out mp3 players with huge fantastic display and a slew of nifty functions, you can sell the shuffle story.

With all the hype aside, the shuffle is essentially a mp3 player with no screen. Thats it. The whole marketing genius of it is the idea. VoiceOver essentially betrays everything (well almost) that the shuffle stands for. And as cool as it might sound, choosing a playlist while twiddling the cord is a bitch. Now with voiceOver, 'life is not so random'.

I'm no market insider. But as a consumer, I'd say the 2nd gen sales is going to be stronger than that of the 3rd gen. One more point. They priced it at USD79 compared to $49 of the 2nd gen. After all the great things apple have done, I guess one trips once in a while.