Apple introduced the next generation iPod shuffle. The shuffle has always been Apple’s smallest iPod, but now it is nearly half the size of the previous model at 1.8 inches tall by 0.3 inches thin.The noteworthy features of the new iPod shuffle are lack of physical controls and a new Voice Over feature that, like the latest iPod nano, narrates where you are in the interface using your computer’s speech voices.
That shouldn't come as a surprise to you: the Apple CEO has been on a crusade to wipe moving parts from the face of Apple's products as early as the replacement of PowerBook trackballs with trackpads or the removal of the physical scroll wheel from the original iPod.
And now we have the buttonless iPod shuffle. With the exception of a single switch that controls the unit's power and lets you change between shuffle and ordered play, the iPod shuffle itself contains no buttons. Instead, the playback controls are integrated into the headphone cord: you can squeeze either the top, bottom, or center of the remote to execute different functions.
The new iPod shuffle bumps storage up to 4GB and features VoiceOver, which enables the iPod to speak your song titles, artists, and playlist names. The shuffle can speak 14 languages: including English, Czech, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, and Turkish.
The shuffle has a single switch that turns the iPod on as well as lets you choose between shuffling the iPod’s contents or playing everything on it from beginning to end. Other navigation and volume control is handled with a small switch on the included earbuds.See this...
The fact that Apple has to put up this diagram tells you how much more complicated it is: how would you figure out the controls without this chart? The only markings on the controls are the "+" and "-" that mark volume controls. There is no indication of how to play or pause music. There’s also no way to know where the previous or next track buttons are; you wouldn't be out of line thinking that it might involve the use of the volume up and down buttons—not so. In order to go to the next track, you double-click the center of the controller; to go the previous track, you triple-click the controller. You can also hold down the center button to hear the name of the currently playing track, then release it after a beep to hear the name of all your playlists.
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