I awoke this morning to find a bulging TUAW tipline email folder. It seems the Oopma-Loompas at Apple have created a new iPod shuffle.
It’s tiny — just 1.8″ high, 0.7″ wide and 0.3″ deep (45mm x 17mm x 7.8mm). What’s most striking is its feature-less face. The controls have been moved to the headphone wire. It looks odd, and users who despise Apple’s earbuds are out of luck, as the shuffle can’t be controlled without them. I’m sure the folks at Griffin and Belkin are already working on an adapter.
Of course, the flashy new feature is VoiceOver. Through a series of clicks on the wired controller, you can prompt your iPod to “speak” the name of the current track and artist, current playlist or even scroll through playlists. Pretty neat. It’s interesting that the voice on a shuffle that’s been synced with a Mac differs from one synced with a Windows machine (it’s Leopard’s Alex High Quality on the Mac).
I’m disappointed that it doesn’t work with Apple’s Nike + product for runners. It’s true that the shuffle has never worked with Nike+, but this model ought to be the exception. Being able to control the song selection, playlist and volume while receiving audio performance updates via the headset controller would be great. Reaching to click the buttons of my nano while it’s in my armband is a hassle, and I never refer to the screen while I’m running. It’s just too difficult to read while moving.
Still, it’s a snazzy little device. The VoiceOver features are clever and I do like the controller on the headset wire (though I know it will be an area of contention). The convenience of simply reaching up to make a click or two is great. There’s no need to stop walking, pull it from your pocket, fiddle with the hold switch, etc. Plus, it’s smaller than its predecessor yet has twice the storage capacity (4GB) at the same price point ($79US).
Best of all, my geek girl crush — Hannah — is back with the Guided Tour.
I tried to DM you, but it doesn’t go through for obvious reasons. The error’s in your site’s footer.
And Hannah does do it well. She’d got a fan in me now. What else has she covered previously?