Apple released a little bit of a firestorm today with the announcement of its newest iPod Shuffle. The headphone company has shrunk the device to a magnifying-glass-not-included 1.8 by 0.7 by 0.3 inches, but to do so, it's been forced to remove almost all control functionality from the unit's body. You now control the random (or sequential) back-and-forth progression of songs, the volume, and Shuffle's pause features via a small control box on the included earphones.
While this new variety of $30 earphones ($80 for the in-ear model) have been around since late last year, this is the first time that Apple's required them in order for a consumer to use a handheld device. That means that you can take off the rockin' cans you currently use and put them on the shelf for awhile, as third-party adapters featuring the remote control functionality aren't out yet.
But this piece -- a cable with remote control buttons and a 1/8-inch stereo input -- can't be that difficult to make. In a perfect world, Apple would have bundled an adapter cable along with the new iPod Shuffle. But this is Apple. Regardless, the lack of any kind of adapter on the launch day of its new product raises an interesting consideration: Why is Apple competing against itself?
Hear me out. What are you more likely to lose, crush, or otherwise render obsolete? Your boring ol' default iPod Shuffle earphones or the Shuffle itself? I'm going to guess the former, as I've personally gone through (or loaned out) countless numbers of earphones, in-ear speakers, and headphones depending on where I'm jamming my music combined with my tendency to lose things.
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