iPod shuffle: Are these earbuds for you?

A pple has a history of making things without features that many people consider essential.

[Jody]

What do replacement ear buds cost?
I go through them pretty quickly, so if they are expensive to replace (and I have a feeling they are) then it's not worth it.

[fru]

Plus, I hate earbuds to begin with so I guess I won't be getting one until they have over-the-ear or foam earphones.

[joeldm]

In your piece you suggest that having controls on the headset means that if you're not happy with Apple's included headset and you purchase one of the 3rd-party vendor headsets that will be available in May that "means having to shell out more money."
Uh, isn't that the case no matter what brand of MP3 player or version of iPod you buy? If you're not happy with the headset you're going to be spending money to buy a different one and in most cases, certainly in my case, a much more expensive one, right, with better specs or a better fit?
So is there any other point?
I realize the article mainly lays out the features of the article, but your headset "hook" is meaningless and illogical. If you don't like ANY factory earbuds you're going to be "shell(ing) out more money", right?
JoeL

[EtanHorowitz]

joeldm wrote:

In your piece you suggest that having controls on the headset means that if you're not happy with Apple's included headset and you purchase one of the 3rd-party vendor headsets that will be available in May that "means having to shell out more money."
Uh, isn't that the case no matter what brand of MP3 player or version of iPod you buy? If you're not happy with the headset you're going to be spending money to buy a different one and in most cases, certainly in my case, a much more expensive one, right, with better specs or a better fit?
So is there any other point?
I realize the article mainly lays out the features of the article, but your headset "hook" is meaningless and illogical. If you don't like ANY factory earbuds you're going to be "shell(ing) out more money", right?
JoeL

Hi,

Thanks for the comment. Yes, you would have to shell out more money in some cases, but not if you already own a pair of headphones. For instance, I have a pair of noise canceling headphones I've had for a few years, so if I bought the new shuffle, I'd want to use to them with it. If the controls were on the shuffle, I could use my favorite headphones without having to pay any more money.

Etan

[Sick of it all]

fru wrote:

Plus, I hate earbuds to begin with so I guess I won't be getting one until they have over-the-ear or foam earphones.

I use my Bose around ear phones and would never go back to buds.

[Mike2977]

In this design, Apple has gone full tilt, in my opinion. Why? Well for one, less is not better. There are so many great and small mp3 players on the market today for less than $50 (way less than that), that paying their price just doesn't make sense unless you just have to have the Apple name. Our family's latest set of MP3 players (we all got them) comes from RCA and Walmart (RCA Pearl); sells for less than $50 and is available on the web for much less. It's only slightly larger than Apple's nano, and can take micro SD cards to increase the number of songs you can store. Better yet, I can use my great in-ear canal ear buds, and see a nice LED screen to manage my play lists. No, Apple, not this time!

[Stinky Jobs]

I think Apple made the new Shuffle to be such a pain the rear end to use to get people to spend the extra money for the Ipod Nano where there is a greater profit margin. Maybe I am wrong but that's my best guess.

[Artie]

As someone who has used all three generations of the Shuffle, as well as numerous other iPods, I love the newest version. Increased capacity, slightly improved audio quality, and "voice over" is extremely useful. One learns the new control sequences in five minutes. Someday I would like an adaptor to use my favorite phones, but I can wait. The Shuffle is an accessory, not one's sole audio system.

[Grim Writer]

Skullcandy are the best earbuds I've found. They're rubber on the inside and have various sized inserts depending on your ears. I hate the ones that come with the ipods. They're made for gigantic ears.

[Mike2977]

I love my Shure E3C earphones. They come with several options for insertion in the ear canal; the one I like is the cylindrical memory foam that when squeezed for insertion expands to fill the canal and block out external noise. Even better than sound canceling headphones on an airplane. Comparison of the entire "E" line at: http://tinyurl.com/dluuqd

Grim Writer wrote:

Skullcandy are the best earbuds I've found. They're rubber on the inside and have various sized inserts depending on your ears. I hate the ones that come with the ipods. They're made for gigantic ears.

[Jenny]

I'm really satisfied with my extra earbuds, which I got at this Pink iPod website.. they are low priced! I love how they match my iPod. Please check it out at http://www.pink-nano-ipod.com and look for "headphones & earbuds" on the menu :)