POSTED BY

Rob Beschizza

AT 7:04 AM
Thursday March 12, 2009

Audio and Portables

mac

Will third-party gear fix the new iPod Shuffle?

If you think Apple's taken simplicity too far by replacing traditional media player controls with morse code, Scosche (!) has an answer. It plans to release an adapter that lets you fast forward and rewind the old-fashioned way.

It's among the first among makers of iPod peripherals to announce products that match the new iPod Shuffle. As special headphones with an inline control modules are required to use it, companies that make such peripherals will now become the focus of attention.

Scosche announced three compatible earbuds, but quickly moved to what people will care about more: "an inline control adapter kit that allows consumers to use any standard set of headphones," and "plug their shuffle into any vehicle's auxiliary input."

I shall leave you with Peter Serafinowicz' stunningly prescient parody: the MacTini, a computer with one button and an interface just like the new Shuffle's.

sosche_shuffle.jpgSo we're getting pitches from companies selling new earbuds and adapters for Apple's buttonless iPod Shuffle, like this new one from Scosche.* Take a look at the adapter that lets you use the Shuffle with other headphones.

It's short, because you don't want to add a lot of extra length to your existing headphones. Which puts the controls not next to your breast like the standard-issue headphones from Apple, but down next to wherever you have clipped the Shuffle. You have to pay extra money to put buttons right next to the Shuffle.

I suppose the only consolation is knowing that in a revision or two the Shuffle will actually just be inside the included earbuds and that will be that. – Joel

* Yeah, me neither.

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17 Comments

ROSSINDETROIT

#1 – 8:34 AM March 12, 2009

Oh, I get it. The next Shuffle is part of the earphones. No external connection. Recharging by inductive coupling. Computer interface by Bluetooth. Turn it on by putting it in your ear. Nod your head to skip. Shake your head to pause.
There. I just designed the next - and last - Apple portable player.

Tensegrity

#2 – 9:03 AM March 12, 2009

@1 And those billboards with the silhouetted, gyrating hipsters are going to be the user manuals!

GadgetGav

#3 – 9:35 AM March 12, 2009

I really don't see why this is such an issue. The 1/2/3 click thing is not hard to figure out, it's the same as the latest generation iPods and the iPhone.
Apple designs for the mass market. I'd be interested to see how many iPod users still use the standard headphones that came with their player. I'd bet it's a significant proportion. And even for those who want something else, there's solutions like this or companies like Ultimate Buds who'll graft other drivers onto Apple cords.
It's really not an issue. Apple makes one type of improved headphone and leaves the rest up to the free market...

aj

#4 – 9:49 AM March 12, 2009

I want an iPhone shuffle. Click the single button and it calls a random phone number.

mralistair

#5 – 9:58 AM March 12, 2009

there is also the iflea spoof

http://www.boreme.com/boreme/funny-2005/ipod-flea-p1.php

midknyte

#6 – 10:14 AM March 12, 2009

I'm not particularly for Apple, yet this design does not have me in hackles. The voice-over is terribly gimmicky though in it's execution. The claim for the smallest player is a bit dubious - there are and have been pendent style players (Apple might have them beat by a few millimeters..). But so what.

Maybe we're just seeing the first Post-Jobs design to be executed?

If you don't like it, simply don't buy it. The market will capably decide this one.

Anonymous Anonymous

#7 – 10:19 AM March 12, 2009

The new shuffle and its inline remote isn't so great for people that workout. Try going for a run and you'll notice that the little inline remote will fly around all over the place, unless you clip it to your shirt somehow. That Scosche adapter looks even bigger and "heavier" than the Apple remote. So it's really not much of a solution.

I suppose the only consolation is knowing that in a revision or two the Shuffle will actually just be inside the included earbuds and that will be that.

I think Apple's next step for the shuffle is to rip off the Sony NWZ-W202 design. Or the Motorola S9.

dculberson

#8 – 10:45 AM March 12, 2009

I think the Shuffle isn't targeted at people that have line inputs in their car. It seems like people with line inputs in their car have larger mp3 players. Even a 16gb nano is viewed as small, storage wise.

The shuffle is for working out, running, providing a soundtrack to your daring adventures and breathtaking escapes, etc.

El Stinko

#9 – 12:00 PM March 12, 2009

The Onion hit it right on the button with a similar piece: http://www.theonion.com/content/video/apple_introduces_revolutionary

Adam Fields

#10 – 12:32 PM March 12, 2009

Someone should make an adapter that clips into the wire of your existing headphones, like the way those clip-on lamp switches with teeth on the inside work.

BingoTheChimp

#11 – 1:36 PM March 12, 2009

@EL STINKO

Hilarious -- especially the "predictive sentence completion." Pause the video for max laffs.

El Stinko

#12 – 2:09 PM March 12, 2009

The aardvark admitted its fault.
The aardvark admitted it was wrong.
The aardvark asked for an aardvark.
The aardvark asked for a dagger.
The aardvark asked for health.
The aardvark asked for a ride.
The absinthe arrived by airmail.
The abortion went well.
The actor asked for an aardvark.
The annex was covered with beetles.
The Althusserian scholar gave his copy of Lucean’s “Ecrits” to the abortion doctor.

stratosfyr

#13 – 10:30 AM March 13, 2009

I just want to take a Samsung S2 and alchemically merge it with a set of JVC HA-E130 headphones.

monstrinho_do_biscoito

#14 – 10:50 AM March 13, 2009

meh, i play tunes on my (non i)phone now. i have to carry it about anyway for work and it's built to live in the real world where i might put it in the same pocket as my keys occasionally without wrecking it for all eternity. I can't be arsed with apple products now. too fragile and i feel like apple's bitch whenever i use them.

deadgadget

#15 – 9:39 PM March 13, 2009

It's worth adding that if your iPod refuses to go into Disk Mode and you hear a noticeable clicking sound the problem might just be corrosion on the HDD cable and will need cleaned periodically.

ipod fix

Itsumishi

#16 – 4:36 PM March 15, 2009

It's really not an issue. Apple makes one type of improved headphone and leaves the rest up to the free market...

They didn't make any improved headphones. They created a control device and attached it to the headphones.

Now the obvious solution would be to do what Nokia or plenty of other companies have done. Create the control device and have a standard 3.5inch jack to plug the headphones into the controller. Apple didn't do this, because that way they force other companies to produce entirely new sets of headphones, or a seperate device which plugs into your standard headphones.

Which results in you having to buy either 2 extra products rather than one, or a product that will likely be more expensive and or lower quality (because there will be less competition within the Apple iPod shuffle only headphone market than the general headphone market.).

Essentially what Apple have done is engaged in Anti-Competitive behaviour. Quite similar to the arguments against Apple DRM...

Hang on didn't Apple once sue Microsoft for Anti-Competitive behaviour once?

---

If you don't like it, simply don't buy it. The market will capably decide this one.

One of the best features of a 'free market' is the ability for consumers to research products before purchasing, research that is often primarily based on reviews by people independent to the companies they're reviewing. Now you can say this feature doesn't bother me so I'll buy the product. But this exact issue might be exactly what hundreds of other people think is wrong with the shuffle.

Anonymous Anonymous

#17 – 2:42 AM July 27, 2009

i saw this issue and how to fix it at this website.
http://fixyouripod.weebly.com
good luck and enjoy the music guys

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