It’s cute, it’s tiny and it’s the cheapest iPod you can buy. But if Apple were to squeeze the $59 iPod Shuffle out of its iPod lineup in favor of, say, a new (and smaller) iPod Nano, as one Wall Street analyst is suggesting ... would you miss it?
Apple’s annual (though not yet announced) music event is probably just a month away, and naturally we’re expecting a series of revisions to Apple’s iconic (if commercially stagnant, compared with skyrocketing iPhone and iPad sales) iPod line. Among the predicted unveilings: a revamped iPod Touch, plus various tweaks to the Nano, Shuffle and Classic players. There’s also a fair amount of buzz surrounding a leaked squarish touch display that's just 1.7 inches across the diagonal (and you thought 3.5-inch touchscreens were small!), possibly signaling the arrival of a new little brother for the Touch.
One of the biggest questions about that little 1.7-inch touchscreen (other than whether it’s real) is whether it would be for the Nano or the Shuffle — and if it would be for the Nano, wonders BMO Capital analyst Keith Bachman ( via Tech Trader Daily), could that mean the "elimination" of the Shuffle as we know it?
That's pure conjecture on Bachman's part; there's no evidence that Apple would actually do such a thing. But food for thought, yes?
The Shuffle has always been something of an oddball in Apple’s iPod parade, starting off back in early 2005 as a relatively standard, ice-white flash-memory stick that arrived — rather shockingly, at the time — without any display.
About a year and a half later, the Shuffle evolved into a cool little aluminum rectangle with a clip for your clothing, perfect for running or working out at the gym. (This second-generation Shuffle ranks as my favorite of the three designs.)
Then, in March 2009, the Shuffle morphed again, shrinking into a 0.30-inch-thick, 0.4-ounce capsule so small you could probably swallow it, even without a chaser. (The new Shuffle also ignited a minor controversy for moving the volume and track controls to the headphone cord, meaning third-party headsets would require an adapter for skipping tracks or cranking the sound.)
Through its many forms, however, the itty-bitty Shuffle has straddled a rather thin line between being either a) the perfect iPod for athletes or anyone wanting a barely there MP3 player, or b) so vanishingly small that it’s practically unusable. (Indeed, Steve Jobs’ apparent obsession with ever-smaller iPods was famously — and awesomely — parodied by "Saturday Night Live" back in 2005).
The Shuffle enjoys the distinction of being the cheapest non-accessory gadget that Apple makes. At $59 for the current 2GB model, it’s practically a stocking stuffer. The least expensive iPod Nano, on the other hand, starts at $149.
So in case you hadn’t already guessed, I’ve got a hypothetical all teed up for you (and incidentally, I personally don’t have an answer for it).
Let’s say Steve Jobs takes the stage next month and says, "Guess what, folks: The iPod Shuffle is history. Meet the new iPod Nano Touch!" Or "Meet the new iPod Touch Mini!" (And remember, of course, that analyst Keith Bachman and I are just speculating here.) In short, no more Shuffle. Would you miss it? Would you be perfectly fine with, say, a slightly smaller Nano with a touchscreen? Or would you be lost without a Shuffle the size of a bullet?
Give us your yea or nay (or your "who cares," for that matter) in the comments, and don’t forget to tell us why.
• Tech Trader Daily: Apple: Analyst sees new iPods, new Airs in September
— Ben Patterson is a technology writer for Yahoo! News.
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