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[Tenacious-V]

MACWORLD EXPO, SAN FRANCISCO - January 11, 2005 - Apple® today introduced iPod® shuffle, a breakthrough digital music player based on iPod's legendary shuffle feature which lets users experience their music in a million different ways. Smaller and lighter than a pack of gum, iPod shuffle comes with its own lanyard so it's ready to wear right out of the box. iPod shuffle works seamlessly with iTunes' innovative AutoFill feature which automatically selects songs from a user's music library to fill up iPod shuffle with just one click. iPod shuffle is the most affordable iPod ever and is available in two models: 512MB holding up to 120 songs for just $99 and 1GB holding up to 240 songs for just $149.

"iPod shuffle is smaller and lighter than a pack of gum and costs less than $100," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "With most flash-memory music players users must use tiny displays and complicated controls to find their music; with iPod shuffle you just relax and it serves up new combinations of your music every time you listen."

iPod shuffle is based on iPod's pioneering and widely-used shuffle feature, which randomly selects songs from the user's music library or playlists. In addition, iPod shuffle works seamlessly with iTunes® and its innovative new patent-pending AutoFill feature, which automatically selects the perfect number of songs to fill iPod shuffle from a user's complete music library on their computer. And at any time, with a flip of a switch on the back of iPod shuffle, users can choose to listen to their music in order rather than shuffled, perfect for listening to a favorite new album.

Users can conveniently charge and transfer music from their Mac® or PC by plugging iPod shuffle directly into a USB port. iPod shuffle doubles as a portable USB flash drive with up to 1GB of storage space to back up personal files and exchange them between computers.

iPod shuffle is the newest member of Apple's wildly popular iPod family for both Mac and PC which includes the fourth generation iPod, the iPod mini, the iPod U2 Special Edition and iPod photo. More than 10 million iPods have been sold since it was introduced, and it is the number one selling digital music player in the world.

The popularity of iPod has also created a booming accessory market, and iPod shuffle is being introduced with several optional accessories. In addition to the included lanyard, there is an optional armband that makes iPod shuffle perfect for many athletic activities. An optional sport case keeps iPod shuffle safely protected from outdoor elements with its clear case and neck strap. An optional dock serves as an elegant and convenient home base for syncing and charging iPod shuffle, and an optional USB power adapter easily charges iPod shuffle when it's away from the computer by simply plugging it into any electrical outlet. Users can extend the iPod shuffle battery life (up to 12 hours) with an optional battery pack that holds two AAA batteries and keeps the music playing for up to 20 additional hours.

Pricing & Availability
The 512MB and 1GB models of iPod shuffle for Mac or Windows are now shipping for a suggested retail price of $99 (US) and $149 (US) respectively, and include earbud headphones, lanyard and a CD with iTunes 4.7.1 for Mac and Windows computers. iPod shuffle is available through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com), Apple's retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers. The iPod shuffle arm band, sport case, battery pack, dock and USB power adaptor optional accessories will become available over the next few weeks for a suggested retail price of $29 (US) each.

iPod shuffle requires a Mac with a USB port and Mac OS® X version 10.2.8 or Mac OS X version 10.3.4 or later; or a Windows PC with a USB port, or a USB card and Windows 2000 Service Pack 2 or later, or Windows XP Home or Professional Service Pack 4 or later.

Looks sorta interesting, but no LCD. Looks nice though, and it's so tiny. Only the size of a stick of gum.

 

[Doth Togo]

:lol

There's already a bigass thread on this topic.

http://ga-forum.com/showthread.php?t=31215

 

[Burger]

Uhhh....

 

[Tenacious-V]

My bad, I don't surf the OT forum to much. Feel free to delete topic or ridicule me.

 

[bishoptl]

Aww....it's no fun to ridicule you if you're going to be such a goddamned good sport about it.

 

[COCKLES]

" pioneering and widely-used shuffle"

?

 

[Shinobi]

The lack of a screen simply blows my mind...

 

[Phoenix]

The lack of a screen simply blows my mind...

It wouldn't be the first USB/flash based player with no screen.

 

[Fresh Prince]

The first USB/flash based player had no screen.

Fixed

 

[Docpan]

I dunno... Sounds pretty damn dumb to me.

 

[God's Hand]

Shows just how washed up Apple and its followers are. This thing has no screen, and Apple is claiming it pioneered shuffling. Really, how do people put up with this?

 

[Shinobi]

It wouldn't be the first USB/flash based player with no screen.

And what's that gotta do with the price of tea? There are plenty of models that have screens, and with 20 hours worth of music that could be used on that unit, I think it would be kinda neccessary. It simply reeks of being cheap.

 

[xsarien]

If anything, this just proves my theory that if Nintendo and Apple ever got together, we'd see the craziest shit this side of a road trip with HST.

Imagine, if you will, an iPod....with two screens.

 

[Echoes of Pink]

"We invented the shuffle....with a little help from..."

 

[RedDwarf]

Wow, that just seems like a bad idea. I don't doubt that people will love it because it's from Apple though. I've never used a shuffle feature with anything though so I doubt I'm the right audience.

 

[Lemurnator]

It ONLY plays your tracks in a random order?

Pretty weak.

Pretty VERY fucking weak. Well, I don't have to buy it... so....

 

[xsarien]

It ONLY plays your tracks in a random order?

Pretty weak.

Pretty VERY fucking weak. Well, I don't have to buy it... so....

No.

iPod shuffle is based on iPod's pioneering and widely-used shuffle feature, which randomly selects songs from the user's music library or playlists. In addition, iPod shuffle works seamlessly with iTunes® and its innovative new patent-pending AutoFill feature, which automatically selects the perfect number of songs to fill iPod shuffle from a user's complete music library on their computer. And at any time, with a flip of a switch on the back of iPod shuffle, users can choose to listen to their music in order rather than shuffled, perfect for listening to a favorite new album.

 

[jenov4]

Hopefully this thing will lower the prices on them iRivers. I've been meaning to get one of those suckers.

 

[Sumidor]

It looks like a remote control in those pictures.

 

[SpoonyBard]

I'd buy it if it wasn't that expensive compared to other players. Now for example Creative MuVo seems like a much better choice.

 

[Schmo Florez]

So let me get this straight...If you have more than 1 gig of music in your library "Auto-fill" will automatically choose 1 gig worth?


If this is true then its bogus.

 

[Ignatz Mouse]

Autofill is just an option.

It's like saying "Give me 1GB of random music from my library, please"