[Jmmmmm]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Damage If you do a bit of backtracking, the iShuffle uses Sigmatel DSP (like pretty much most flash players), so there will be very little difference in sound quality. All they did was slap in a non-removable battery (which I still think is a big minus for any and all portable audio), and didn't slap on a LCD (which makes it equivalent ot a first gen Muvo). And this thing gets acclaim as if it's the best thing since sliced bread?

Does it have a proprietary battery? I wasn't sure, so I didn't say it earlier. Non-removable battery= bad idea, especially on a flash player. I love..LOVE the fact that I can keep a set of 4 charged batteries for my iriver, and just pop the next one in when the first gets low. It saves me a whole lot of time and effort. I probably wouldn't have bought it if I couldn't do this

but, to each his own...

 

[IpodSF]

According to iPod Lounge, the San Fransico Apple Store sold out of it's 20,000 units within 4 hours of selling them. Just imagine the thousands of people lined up out the door pulling hundreds of dollars out of their wallets for these things all at once.

Wow, that Apple store would have been a great place to plan a robbery on the 11th. Over $200,000 in the registers. LOL... Just kidding of course.

 

[jesse_w]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jmmmmm lol...somebody's got apple stock (jesse) there is not a single mp3 player out there that doesn't have the features of the shuffle, plus a lot more. The only thing this has going for it is that it is pretty cheap. Well, that and the word 'ipod'. So if cheap is the reason, I understand. Otherwise, it's a stupid buy.

This is not some sort of agenda I'm pushing here. If you can help me find something better, by all means please help instead of saying vague things that amount to nothing more than ipod is bad because its ipod. Something at least as small, with 1gig of flash memory, and a built in rechargeable battery, this at least. You're not helping to dispel whatever iPod fanboyism you percieve by not sharing your wisdom.

jesse

 

[DigDub]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jesse_w The players you (DigDub) posted are vaguely availible (or not at all) here and little information is availible on their physical size or anything else, other than their (inferior) memory capacity. Most don't have rechargeable batteries, there are no prices, etc. jesse

and thats where the 'there are other players out there that does the same thing with more features and same price range' comes in. the size are comparable to the shuffle, maybe a bit taller here and a bit thicker there, but nothing much to be concerned about. however, the average joe consumers do not know that and apple is cashing of this. is apple really concerned with providing a 'new niche player' thats easy to use, or taking advantage of the ill-informed consumers who probably thinks ipods are the only mp3 players? this may be true for the american market, where the shuffle is a 'nice surprise', but the shuffle will certainly rank low when you one have seen the other choices available.

 

[Damage]

Yep, iShuffle has its battery built in. In something like a HD-DAP, its understandable, as the power requirements easily outstrips the standard AA and AAA cells. However, on a Flash based player, the idea is not that hot.

Think of this scenario:
After a nice hard workout, you toss your iShuffle in your dufflebag, and forget about it. Two or three workouts later, and when you're listening, you hear some beeps, and bam, out of juice.

If it were your iRiver or Creative, all you need to do is stop for a minute and replace the AAA cell. With the iShuffle, well you don't have that option now do you? Unless you spent another $150 buying another ishuffle.

Though, it only takes about $20-40 investment in a good set of rechargable batteries and rechargers vs. another $100 to $150 in another iShuffle.

Whatever.

By the by, Muvo's 512MBs are now $99 at my local fry's. The Price Wars has begun.

 

[DigDub]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jesse_w This is not some sort of agenda I'm pushing here. If you can help me find something better, by all means please help instead of saying vague things that amount to nothing more than ipod is bad because its ipod. Something at least as small, with 1gig of flash memory, and a built in rechargeable battery, this at least. You're not helping to dispel whatever iPod fanboyism you percieve by not sharing your wisdom. jesse

there are already similar players, as many have pointed out (creative n200, korean and chinese mp3 players). and when one mentions the display, the trend will always go like 'who needs an lcd, an lcd isn't necessary better', similar to the ipod hd players vs other mp3 players with more features arguments. somehow, it is ok to accept a lower benchmark when apple says its ok, and the 'average consumers' suddenly realises their benchmarks were set too high previously and whatever apple pushes out is the 'right' standard.

 

[tsplash75]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Damage Think of this scenario: After a nice hard workout, you toss your iShuffle in your dufflebag, and forget about it. Two or three workouts later, and when you're listening, you hear some beeps, and bam, out of juice. If it were your iRiver or Creative, all you need to do is stop for a minute and replace the AAA cell. With the iShuffle, well you don't have that option now do you? Unless you spent another $150 buying another ishuffle. Though, it only takes about $20-40 investment in a good set of rechargable batteries and rechargers vs. another $100 to $150 in another iShuffle. Whatever.

that's a lil extreme, isn't it? you can't compare buying rechargable batteries to buying another iPod shuffle.

it would be as easy as recharging your iPod shuffle again. you make it seem like the apple product amazingly goes stale like a loaf of bread after a week and is no use to anyone anymore. that is very far from the truth.

i can understand if you meant to say that one day the built-in battery will no longer hold a charge, but just like the previous iPods, the battery can be replaced. i'll give you the fact that it's not as easy as going out and picking up a AAA or AA battery, but they both last 1000 charges or so, right?

so really.. what's the diff?

you are given the option to use the extra battery pack, much like you are given the option of carrying extra AAA or AA batteries with you.

 

[jesse_w]

You're totally dodging the question at hand. None of the players you mentioned, even if they were availible in north america, have a rechargeable battery or 1gig of capacity. Paying for batteries does not appeal to me. I've looked through all the choices everyone has presented in this thread so far, and none of them meet the following requirements: same size (at most) as shuffle, with 1gig of memory, with built in rechargeable battery. I'm asking if anyone can show me these 'other choices' but no one has come up with anything. I dont give a crap about apple, but I'm curious about a flash player for more beat-around ultra portable use, and at the moment when considered objectively it seems like the best bet. The N200 comes close, but is far more expensive especially when the batteries are considered.

jesse

 

[DigDub]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tsplash75 you are given the option to use the extra battery pack, much like you are given the option of carrying extra AAA or AA batteries with you.

and so they said one of the advantages of the shuffle was its tiny size. so its not about the tiny size now? geez, you shufflers really confuses me with your ever changing minds.

 

[Edvard_Grieg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nospam Reading through the postings from the anti-Shuffle crowd, I've noticed that the features that are always listed as "important", are LCD, radio, battery life, storage capacity, etc. Nowhere is ease-of-use, looks, the trendy/coolness factor, etc even a consideration.

I can't say anything to 'coolness factor' because frankly when it comes to Apple it is like a religion and they have an incredible marketing machine, IMHO Jobs could crap in a can and they could market it as a facial cream for those whose pores are getting clogged from sitting in front of a screen for too long. That being said, there would still be throngs of people going out to buy the damn thing. That is probably one of the reasons I dislike Apple so much, it's that they seem to brainwash their customers into thinking there is only one option and forcing a monopoly of those customers. Yes I know "they aren't really brainwash, they've just 'seen the light'" well to each there own.

Back to the point though, as far as 'ease-of-use', I hadn't mentioned it because all players have "forward, backward, play, stop etc" and if that's the simplicity level someone wants, they can still easily get that with any player, it's just that with the other players, they then also have the other options as well.


Jesse- In regards to the Rio Forge suggestion, while it looks 'awkward', the form factor is actually VERY ergonomical and very practical for one handed use. Additionally there is a clear hard plastic armband available for exercise use.

 

[Nospam]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edvard_Grieg ...IMHO Jobs could crap in a can and they could market it as a facial cream for those whose pores are getting clogged from sitting in front of a screen for too long...

Some of their customers just might buy it

Quote:

...Back to the point though, as far as 'ease-of-use', I hadn't mentioned it because all players have "forward, backward, play, stop etc" and if that's the simplicity level someone wants, they can still easily get that with any player, it's just that with the other players, they then also have the other options as well...

The ease-of-use I was talking about is the iTunes integration, with the smart playlists and auto-fill options. I can be dense at times, but even I know the other players have forward/back/play/stop

 

[tsplash75]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DigDub and so they said one of the advantages of the shuffle was its tiny size. so its not about the tiny size now? geez, you shufflers really confuses me with your ever changing minds.

i'm not a 'shuffler'... i was only pointing out the flaw in his argument against the iPod shuffle.

as i will with yours..

carrying around the extra battery pack for added playtime is the pretty much the same as carrying around an extra AAA or AA battery. you're still carrying around an EXTRA component.

don't try to argue about the size of the extra battery pack compared to a battery either... unless you have pockets built specifically for AAA or AA batteries, it's still probably gonna be put in the same pocket.

now before everyone jumps on my back about this.. we should all understand that just like every other DAP before this and every other portable audio source, IT'S NOT MADE FOR EVERYONE.

certain aspects of the design, features, and functionality must be made differently from other manufacturers to make a product unique enough to it's target market to persuade interest. apple did exactly that.

if you don't like the product, you are not the target market... BUT if you are like the other millions of people who are either buying or planning to buy one.. apple has hit the nail right on the head.

 

[Spankypoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by IpodSF According to iPod Lounge, the San Fransico Apple Store sold out of it's 20,000 units within 4 hours of selling them. Just imagine the thousands of people lined up out the door pulling hundreds of dollars out of their wallets for these things all at once. Wow, that Apple store would have been a great place to plan a robbery on the 11th. Over $200,000 in the registers. LOL... Just kidding of course.

yOUR m4+|-| 5KiLL$ r0x0R

 

[daphox]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edvard_Grieg I think the Sandisk is pretty good looking.

Case closed.

For you guys already bashing the shuffle, you've quite not understood who the player is targeted for. The same thing has happened with every ipodmodel. Huge success. With that said, if you wanna spend you're time bashing Apple products, start an ipod photo basher thread. There IS an idiotic product for you. But hey, you guys probably think it's a "better" product since it has more features & a color screen. Sure, it has more features but do you realize it's a crappy product? Oh, & this is a product that failed pretty miserably, even by Macfans. Why? For the price, it's pretty useless...

 

[daphox]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DigDub off the top of my head: http://www.aigo.com/english/Product/list.asp?id=220 http://www.wewa.com.hk/products/prod...ond&groupid=46 http://www2.oregonscientific.com/catalog/4_11_481.asp i don't know if you have these over in your country. but they are priced similar to the shuffle over here.

No we don't have WeWa(?) over here (Sweden), neither do we have GoldStar (they try to fool us with LG now) or "YipYup". Our loss, I know.
What we do have here is a lot of "Myrorna" & "Frälsningsarmén". They sell a lot of used, cheap, clothes & stuff. It costs almost nothing & the profit goes to the 3rd world. If they sold any of these players for nothing, maybe I'd consider buying one.