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| Monday, February 21, 2005 |
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Apple does the digital music Shuffle
Feb. 21, 2005
Apple's competitors have chased the iPod ever since it came out. Just as it looked like they were ready to close the gap, the company sprints away with the pint-sized iPod Shuffle.
The Shuffle may be an iPod at heart, but it marches to the beat of a different drummer.
The original iPod helped bring digital music to the mainstream.
The Shuffle, which starts at $99, has the potential to bring it to the masses. It's small enough. It's light enough. And it's easy enough to use.
Its remarkably small size (.98 by 3.3 by .33 inches) and light weight (.78 ounces) are its strongest features, making it a digital music player you can truly carry around with you all the time.
Apple likes to say it's smaller than a pack of gum, and that is an accurate analogy. This player is so tiny it's easy to forget it's in your pocket, so Apple includes a lanyard to sling it around your neck.
The basic model comes with 512 megabytes of memory, enough space to hold about 120 songs. A 1-gigabyte version costs $150 and can store about twice as much. Both can play for up to 12 hours and need four hours to recharge through a Mac or Windows PC's USB port.
The Shuffle uses flash memory to store songs instead of a hard drive, helping make it light and tough and guaranteeing it will never skip no matter how hard you're running or working out.
The Shuffle is less expensive than its iPod and iPod Mini cousins - partly because it doesn't have an LCD screen to show what song is playing.
You can move through your music one tune at a time using a compact control scheme that includes a volume control, play and pause button.
Instead of downplaying the fact the Shuffle doesn't have a screen, Apple celebrates it.
If you want to be able to immediately jump to the song or album of your choice, get a regular iPod (or one of dozens of competing players).
The Shuffle gives you a new "spontaneous, emotional relationship" with music, said Danika Cleary, senior product manager for the iPod.
Apple promotes this idea of a mysterious free-flowing musical experience in a couple of ways. The Shuffle can be set to either play songs in order or randomly by flicking a sliding switch. A new feature in its iTunes software called "autofill" can randomly select songs from your library every time you connect the player and push them over.
For those who prefer order over chaos, songs can be tagged and transferred and listened to based on their place in line on the playlist.
Something made in a white plastic casing could easily come off looking cheap, but Apple managed to imbue some of the charming iPod class and style into the Shuffle, including smooth curves and a subtle glossy feel on the front.
Cleary declined to say whether Apple is planning to announce any new Shuffle models with more storage space or in different colors.
I think a selection of shades similar to the iPod Mini would make a lot of sense for the Shuffle.
The Shuffle works like any other iPod - it's intuitive and plug-and-play, whether you're using it with an Apple or Windows computer.
It takes several minutes to fill up the Shuffle, and you can have music transferred randomly or choose to have songs that you've given higher ratings to selected more often.
Apple expects the Shuffle to appeal to several audiences, including current iPod owners who want to add one to their collection, and newcomers who will find it less intimidating than players with more features.
Cleary noted that the $99 model is in the price range of teenagers willing to save up their allowance.
"What we've seen so far - and what our hope is - is that we are addressing a whole new set of customers," Cleary said. "We are making it available to people who are not into it yet. These are people still using portable CD players.
"A lot of them see the regular iPod and 10,000 songs and say 'That is not for me,' " she said. "A smaller size makes more sense, and this is an easy way for people to get it." |
| posted by Perimbean @ 11:00 AM |
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