OK, I'll begin by saying that the new Shuffle is, without doubt, one of the smallest, sexiest MP3 players I've ever seen. I love how it looks. It's... compelling. Of course, with this level of form, some functionality is lost. With the 3G Shuffle, it's the buttons (or lack thereof).
Apple decided to move the buttons off the controller and onto the headphone cord. There are two major flaws that I can see:
1. I can't use "any old" pair of headphones anymore. Sure, the music still plays, but if I can't pause, skip, turn the volume up/down, what's the point. I'm now tied into either Apple's headphones or third-party headphones with the controller. Gone are the days of a "headphone catastrophe" where the headphone cord gets pinched while traveling and I have to run out to a store and grab a pair of substitute $10 phones. I now have to either shell out $20-30 and/or find a local Apple store. Not good. (And let's not even talk about using it with my car stereo...)
2. The controls are... in a bad place. It's kind of hard to grab the controller without looking when it's bouncing around near my jaw while running. Today, it took me about 5-6s to actually get a hold of the darned thing and skip ahead. Later in the day, I grabbed it a bit quicker but then accidentally yanked the earbud out. This was obviously designed without testing it "in the field."
To both of the above, some comment: "wait until Apple releases an adapter with controls in a better position that allow you to use normal headphones." Of course, my reply is "I already spent $80 on this thing. You want me to spend MORE?"
In the end, this is one sweet of technology that just screams "impress your friends." Of course, you don't hear it whispering "and secretly dread using me anywhere but in your living room chair."
At least Apple's not discontinuing the 2G Shuffle...
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