IPod shuffle
- The title of this article is incorrect because of technical limitations. The correct title is iPod shuffle.
iPod shuffle is an iPod digital audio player designed and marketed by Apple Computer. It was announced at the Macworld Conference & Expo on January 11, 2005, with the tagline "Life is random." Unlike the rest of the iPod family, it stores files on flash memory instead of a hard drive. It weighs 0.78 ounces (22 grams).
Two models are available:
Table of contents |
Overview
iPod shuffle is designed to be easily loaded with a selection of songs and to play them in random order. It relies on the use of an "Autofill" feature in iTunes, which can select songs at random from a user's music library (or from a specific playlist) and copy as many as will fit into iPod shuffle's memory. It can hold up to 240 songs (1 GB model, based on Apple's estimate, of four minutes per song and 128 kbit/s AAC encoding).
It lacks the display, scroll wheel, playlist management features, games, address book, calendar, and notes capability of earlier iPods, and cannot be used with iSync. In addition, it is incapable of playing Apple Lossless and AIFF audio files, unlike other iPod models. Unusually the iPod shuffle has a better bass sound quality than its larger iPod kin. [1]
iTunes offers some new features for iPod shuffle. One is the ability to reduce the bit rate of songs to 128 kbit/s AAC. The conversion is done automatically, with the original file left untouched on the computer and the smaller (lower bit rate) file sent to the iPod shuffle. iTunes also allows an iPod shuffle playlist to be viewed and changed while the unit is not connected; the next time the unit is connected, it can then be updated with the changed playlist.
iPod shuffle has buttons for Play/Pause, Next Song, Previous Song, and volume adjustment. On the reverse, it has a battery level indicator and a three-position switch to turn the unit off or set it to play music in order or shuffled. It plugs directly into a computer's USB port (either 1.1 or 2.0), through which it also recharges its twelve-hour battery. The USB plug is hidden beneath a cap. The unit also comes with a lanyard which a user can wear around his or her neck, and hang iPod shuffle from a cap attached to the lanyard.
iPod shuffle can also be used as a keydrive. iTunes allows a user to set how much of the drive will be allowed for storing files, and how much will be used for storing music.
Impact
iPod shuffle was announced at the same time as Mac mini. Like iPod shuffle, Mac mini is a scaled-down product which has been introduced at a lower price point. These two products together can be seen as a conscious effort on the part of Apple management to target a lower-end market and increase visibility in the mass-market.
By April 2005, the end of Apple's second fiscal quarter, the iPod shuffle had already proven itself to be a successful product for its manufacturer. Although Apple has chosen not to specify how many iPod shuffles were sold in the product's first three months of existence, analysts at PiperJaffray estimate that 1.8 million of the 5.3 million iPods sold in the second quarter were shuffles. NPD estimates that the iPod shuffle captured 43% of the flash-based music player market in February of 2005, only its second month of existence.[2] By March of 2005 the iPod shuffle's market share had risen to 58%.
Chewing and eating
Due to its small size (8.38 × 2.49 × 0.84 cm or 3.3 × 0.98 × 0.33 inches), Apple's web site declared iPod shuffle "smaller than a pack of gum and much more fun," with the footnote on its American web site: "Do not eat iPod shuffle." As of January 21, 2005, the footnote has disappeared from the American website; it remains on several international sites, however.
The UK and Ireland site has a slightly reworded version: "Do not chew iPod shuffle," while some other versions of the site, such as the Canadian, French and German versions, make no mention of this.
RAID
In February of 2005, "Jim" of Wright This Way published his iPod Shuffle RAID project. [3] He purchased a USB Hub and connected four iPod Shuffles in a striped array for a total of 3.9Gb of storage. His original intent was to install the Mac operating system onto the array, but the installer wouldn't allow it. A message from Jim on the 10th of February indicates that he is continuing with the project, in an effort to increase the speed of the array using a multi-port USB expansion card rather than a hub.
"Super Shuffle"
In March of 2005 at the CeBIT trade show, a Taiwanese company named Luxpro released Super Shuffle [4], which is cosmetically identical to iPod shuffle. Luxpro also released promo shots and commercials identical to Apple's advertising campaign to promote their player, which includes a voice recorder and FM tuner and is slightly thicker. According to a few individual reports, Apple tried to prevent the Super Shuffle from being shown at the exhibit by forcing legal pressure on Luxpro. Since the CeBIT event several media sources have claimed that the demonstration of the Super Shuffle was a publicity stunt designed by Luxpro to "leverage the media attention created by Apple to their advantage." [5] Engadget claims that Luxpro never intended to manufacture the iPod shuffle knock-off at all, but rather hoped that the attention from the Super Shuffle and the inevitable legal challenge to it from Apple would help sell the company's electronic circuitry for digital music players. Luxpro has since replaced its webpage on the Super Shuffle with a description of a new model, called the Super Tangent which is identical to the Super Shuffle except for a few cosmetic changes. [6]
External links
| Apple Computer's iPod Family |
| iPod | iPod mini | iPod photo | iPod shuffle |
Categories: IPods