The Super Shuffle, huh?
By Peter Rojas 
posted Mar 10th 2005 12:54PM
posted Mar 10th 2005 12:54PM
You hear that? It's the sound of Stevie J. letting loose a thousand lawyers on the people at Luxpro who think that
they're somehow not going to get the crap sued out of them over the "Super Shuffle," a flash-based MP3 player that
looks so very, very familiar to us. Supposedly the Super Shuffle MX-575D/1075D has the same weight as the
iPod shuffle, but is slightly larger (8.4 x 2.5 x 0.84mm
for the shuffle vs. 8.5 x 2.5 x 0.97 for the Super Shuffle) and comes with a built-in FM tuner, comes in 512MB and 1GB
flavors, and offers support for playback of MP3, WMA, and WAV files.
[Thanks, Bene]
An FM Tuner without a display? That sounds like loads of fun.
Wouldn't it have been easier/cheaper from them to simply go play in traffic?
If apple would come out with products that where more than just designed cool people would have a harded time ripping them off. All the ripoffs seem to have more features and cost less.
I heard they were going to make an Iphoto knock off as well... sans the screen. It's far less expensive than Apples Iphoto so that's a bonus.
There was a recent article about how mainland Chinese companies are getting very aggressive about filing for Chinese patents for foreign goods, and when sued, countersue and tie the original manufacturer up in court.
There's no way they would do this without planning a similar strategy.
i don't see it. this looks nothing like the ipod shuffle. apple has no case.
well, it looks good enough, but how much does it cost, and is it a USB drive as well?
Could it be a Gag or are they that Nuts??
Does anybody else think that the iPod shuffle looks like a remote for one of those adjustable mattress beds?
This is OBVIOUSLY a bogus lead/story, no company in the world would so blatantly rip off the design of a competitor's product. There are so-called knock-offs, and then there is just plain stealing another company's patented/trademarked product design, which this would be if the pictures are accurate. I question the pix also, the one with the red background is identical to the one on Apple's site with a green background.
http:/randomtruth.blogspot.com/
Even the advertising for this thing is a complete rip-off of Apple's Shuffle ads. The whole thing is so pathetic ... it certainly doesn't dispell the image of Asians as being "rip off" artists who cannot innovate on either the creative or technological front.
what no cape......not very super to me.
To Brett:
No hoax. Feast your eyes on this:
http://www.luxpro-corp.com/e_575d.htm
Methinks somebody in one of the iPod Shuffle assembly plants in Taiwan has been tellin' tales out of school. That's the only way they could have come out with a product like this that fast. There was a similar instance regarding model trains recently - somebody contracted with a Chinese/Taiwanese design house for an exclusive line of model trains, and somebody in the company stole the plans and started their own business selling competing trains at cheaper prices. And if you think that's bad, take a look at this:
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2004-12/18/content_401235.htm
looks legit enough - check out their site:
http://www.luxpro-corp.com/e_575d.htm
The design is awful. Apple is waaaay more innovative.
China is known for having US businesses open up and then throw them out using their product as their own. It is hard to sue a communist backed country. No copyright laws or none that they adhere to.
Wow. Even the earphones they show on the website are identical to the Apple ones.
"there is just plain stealing another company's patented/trademarked product design"
i don't think you can patent a design. i work for an apparel company and our product gets ripped off year after year. we can't sue or patent out designs though, only the technology used in said designs.
then again, i could be wrong.
Awww... welp, it doesn't support iTunes... I mean thats the reason you Apple iDrones continue to buy the stuff right?
But they do have their own download/music management software... I believe they call it eyeTunes.
What about the Curly Shuffle, or the Super BOWL Shuffle?
The feature list on their website could also have legal problems:
"Shuffle + FM Radio + Voice Recorder"
By stating shuffle, and not MP3 Player, they open them selves up for even more copying battles.
Seriously, I can only guess that there is some guy out there who's house is filled with nothing but knock-off products, rather then the real thing.
Bob-"Do you have a Apple Shuffle?"
Joe-"Ya, I have a Super Shuffle?"
Bob-"Does that work with iTunes?"
Joe-"Ya, it works with eyeTunes?"
"Awww... welp, it doesn't support iTunes... I mean thats the reason you Apple iDrones continue to buy the stuff right?"
You got it. And the reason you don't is... what? You don't like good products? Then you should be way excited over this announcement (there's always *somebody* who's excited about pretty much every lame mp3 player announcement that shows up around here - looking back yesterday, there were even a few people going nuts about the Virgin Electronics players when they were first announced!).
That's the unfortunate byproduct of manufacturing in China - no respect for intellectual property. I bet this thing has a lot of the same exact componets as Apple's.
Sleazy though they might be, these clone/gray/black market companies are not dumb.
Even if they are sued they have probably already figured they can make enough fast money to make the whole ordeal profitable...maybe they even can...
Kinda like parking in San Francisco used to be. It cost $5 bucks an hour for paid parking spaces in the buisness district which meant at least $40 bucks to park a day. But a parking ticket for an expired meter was capped at something like $18 per day. It was cheaper to pay a penalty rather than a price.
"If crime didn't pay...there'd be a lot less criminals..."
This is so hilarious. I would buy it though. and for the record, there are MANY cheapo FM tuners out there without displays! :) They come in cracker jack boxes!
That's the unfortunate byproduct of manufacturing in China - no respect for intellectual property. I bet this thing has a lot of the same exact componets as Apple's.
That's the unfortunate byproduct of manufacturing in China - no respect for intellectual property. I bet this thing has a lot of the same exact componets as Apple's.
Seriously, though, I want to buy one right now. Toss it in a drawer and wait for them to get sued out of business. It will be a nice computing museum tchotchke in a few years.
Heh. Apple has little to fear from the real competition of iRiver, Dell, Creative and Sonic Blue, whose inexpensive workalikes and workBEYONDS have an absurdly slim marketshare.. What makes you think they're going to worry about a cheap Chinese knockoff that will never even SELL on this shore? This would be like Rolex litigating against the Brooklyn knock-off artists...there's no profit in it, and no real loss from it, so don't waste your time pursuing it.
That said, if that little wireless transmitter gadget is Shuffle compatible, I'm buying one. And what's up with that tube driven speaker dock mockup on their site? If they actually build that, I'll buy one. That's something APPLE should clone.
Actually, if I could get the 1gb version for $50, I'd snap it up, and who cares if it's a ripoff?
And actually, some of their other products seem pretty good. I'm looking for purchase info for the Share Connector: http://www.luxpro-corp.com/e_sc01.htm
About iTunes...
I'm quite baffled that nobody in the hacker-programmer community (as far I have been able to find) has bothered to hack iTunes so that it will recognize any USB-connected device under the "Source" column. Why hasn't anybody done this? Is there something extraordinarily difficult about hacking this into the iTunes program, or is this simply a matter that nobody has actually thought of doing this?
Second, how come nobody makes an MP3 player that supports the unprotected AAC format as well? Again, is there something technically difficult about doing this?
I reall ylike the build quality, check out those seems
Where can I get one?
Love the text from their "about" page:
LUXPRO CORPORATION is recognized by a technological group. They work in researching, designing, and innovation products for over 30 years. LUXPRO always insists to provide you comfortable customer services and high quality products to match your requirements.
We will keep going to be a designing leader. Our products are always so useful to meet what you need. Our mission is to improve your living quality and to create your life value. If you can imagine it, LUXPRO CORPORATION can make it.
No matter how old you are, what you do, or where you live, chances are a LUXPRO CORPORATION product touches your life.
No wonder I didn't see the Shuffle at the Apple Store... it's tiny! ;-)
Seriously, if this was real, why not supply a display when the chipset can handle it. And as someone else pointed out, an FM tuner w/o a display or anything to tell you the position is pretty tough to use.
Noticing that the company uses 'shuffle" as a feature instead of "Mp3 Player," maybe the whole shuffle aspect was lost in translation. Maybe the company thought that Shuffle meant Mp3 Player. You never know, considering the horrible English in translated assembly manuals.
#25 and #26 ironic ain't it :) typing it twice :)
#37 hey philip they are not using the name 'shuffle' as a verb or function they are using it as a noun :)
thats why their ad says shuffle + fm radio + voice recorder = super shuffle
Love it... and I'm sure that it is a stunt. If it has drawn attention to the website, the ploy has worked. Some of their other products are pretty cool, like the "Share Connector" and their "Wireless Transmitter". If you go to their Chinese language website though, the product which takes the cake is "Palubo - Baby's First Friend". Er... scary! The link goes to a picture basically saying to wait for further announcements. And I note that they are at CeBIT, Hall 21 Booth 24-1. Can anyone verify any of their products?
They even rip off their advertisments. That PABULO mascot thing is a pretty obvious Pokemon derivative...
#17
Of course you can patent a design. Its called a Design Patent. Look it up. I have one in my name from a previous job.
i think ZSX hit the nail on the head! Think of it this way - instead of all the money for print/tv/whatever advertising (and you can pay through the nose for that), they put that money in a fund to settle the inevitable lawsuit, and in turn get free advertising on all the mac fanboy sites and um well... engadget. The advertising only gets better when apple actually sues them - that will possibly reach news sites like the new york times etc. I think it's genius marketing - probably not all that ethical - but genius marketing nonetheless.
Could it be that they pissed off an OEM manufacturer or something to that effect? That is like a turbo-ripoff.
G.
I'm China. I do what I want!
Check out this Macnews.de page. These guys had a booth up at CEBiT advertizing the thing! Oy!
http://www.macnews.de/gallery/displayimage.php?album=21&pos=4
this is got to be the cheapest rip of they made from mac.
i don't know why people are calling this an Apple ripoff. surely, Apple wouldn't be so stupid as to release a flash based mp3 player that doesn't allow you any flexibility to choose the songs you listen to!
--adam
I want to see what they look like after Stevie J. has sued the hell out of them haha
God Bless Ameri- err China!
Chimerica!!... ?
with liberty and just ice (for tea) for all!!
GO TEAM!!
Yea, it would HAVE to have a screen with a FM tuner. It's MUCH more difficult to "shuffle" through ten radio stations than it is to "shuffle" through 200 songs!!!
Apple iDrones. (#18) HAHAHAHA. I'm gonna bet that's from a Wintel user. HAHAHAHAHA!
It's not April 1st is it? Thsis looks like an exact copy! Are you sure no one's just photoshopped a Shuffle? Surely no company would be stupid enough to completely rip-off the Shuffle design? At least the usual iPod knock offs have some sense of shame and at least _try_ to be different looking in some way...
If Luxpro is smart they should immediately sell their shuffle at Walmart because Walmart will take the side of a Chinese company in a dispute.
While no nameplate, top-tier manufacturer would have done this, and the very sight of this thing is like a slap in the face to most Apple fans (including me), the realities under the legal questions are different than what would be commonly assumed.
The moment Steve help up the iPod shuffle at MWSF '05, I groaned, because I realized the product was a real departure for Apple. Basically, there is no bit of intellectual property present in the shuffle that's protectable. The form/shape of the product is not unique enough to gain a U.S. design patent (that's why Apple' has not applied for one), the control layout is no longer unique (as is the one on the larger iPods), and the functionality of the device is a simple subset of every existing MP3 player on the market. While there is some minor common law protection for a company's industrial design, it is based around a concept best stated as 'essentially exact.' Is the Super shuffle an 'essentially exact' replica of the Apple iPod shuffle? From the audience at MacWorld Expo, it was obvious that the shuffle was ripe for imitation. And, LuxPro is merely the first company to take advantage of Apple's decision to issue a product without any legally unique I.P. Believe me, (A) Apple knew they were releasing an unprotected product, (B) Apple knew there would be similar but not exact knockoffs, and (C) LuxPro knows Apple knew, and has merely stepped up to be the first of what will be several such completely legal imitators. Apple will not sue, because there is no legal basis for such a suit. And, the LuxPor product will be in stores all over the U.S. very soon. And, that's reality.
Luxpro, huh? Google them - programmable thermostats:
http://www.luxproproducts.com/index.html
Looks like a hoax from here.
#30--There are players that play unprotected AAC files. They're called iPods and they've been able to play both Apple DRM'd AAC files from the iTMS and AAC files with no DRM for ages. I've ripped several CD's using AAC and they all play successfully.
Why to copy a crap? They are more retarded than Jobs and the Maczealots.
Just an off question for the Mac bashers - I've seen criticism of the itunes/ipod situation because itunes is not supported on a number of third party players, and a number of other formats, wma comes to mind, are not supported on ipods. iPods do support MP3, as well as the AAC, which is almost a universal format for all players. Also, itunes can encode unprotected music to this format. And all itunes purchases can be burned to an audio CD and reimported/encoded as Mp3. I don't see the big problem in the platform issue when it comes to supporting playable formats other than the AAC.--Mac and Proud, Since 1988
you should know that Taiwan and China are different countries. Super shuffle was made in Taipei, Taiwan.
http://www.luxpro-corp.com/e_about.htm
you should know that Taiwan and China are different countries. Super shuffle was made in Taipei, Taiwan.
http://www.luxpro-corp.com/e_about.htm
MOre info on the company as well as prices:
Tuesday, March 08, 2005
GeekoMania - Spending $$$ on MP3 Players at IT show 2005
All hail to the the IT Show 2005! On the 10th of March (this Thursday), geeks and non-geeks can catch something to dump their $ on...
Let's take a look on what hot's on MDWAV's team wish-list.
iPod Shuffle
Flash-based players are popping out everywhere. Apple's iPod Shuffle (without screen) offering you music and fashion at the same time.
512 MB Shuffle - $178
1GB Shuffle - $268
Gajah Luxpro MP3 Player
Founded by NUS students, Gajah International appears to take on the BIG boys in IT show 2005.
Their Gajah Luxpro MP3 player comes with a learning language software. The software teaches English-speaking users Japanese or Chinese.
Does this mean you can get to know more about your kawaii Japanese colleague or speak some Mandrain to surprise your "nasty" Mother-in-law (if you are a foreigner married to a Chinese).
I think they are doing this just for attentions and to show their other products at Cebit. They will not sell them.
I think they are doing this just for attentions and to show their other products at Cebit. They will not sell them.
to #27: the Shuffle has no specific components designed by apple, except the case.
In fact, the chip used in the shuffle supports FM and Voice recording, and I would not be surprised if LuxPro used the same one ;)
As for the case, it's just a rectangular plastic piece with rounded corners, looks like any other white piece of plastic. The Supershuffle has 2 buttons on the back instead of one, which is probably enough to set it apart from the apple shuffle. Also it appears to have a different construction (based on the ugly seams on the back).
I might even give up my apple shuffle for the supershuffle, since FM tuner would be a nice addition. I don't understand why apple didnt include it. Afterall, in radio, you hardly need a display, since every radio station gives you it's name like a thousand times every hour. Besides, as one commenter pointed out, there are only around 20 radio stations on the FM band, and you have 150 songs on your shuffle... so who needs a display?
//
Basically, Luxpro is just a shell, its mother company Tounsen rips things in Taiwan over 30 years.
http://www.tounsen.com.tw/about01_e.asp
Why do they call it "Super Shuffle" when it cant shuffle songs!
//Jakob
just shows how much apple is ripping us off with its featureless shuffle
I love how you all are enraged at it, yet none have admitted that it's a superior product. Everything is exactly the same, yet it includes an FM tuner and voice recording. They took the design and improved on it. Sounds like some of you are jealous that Apple can't think of these things.
Thank god I don't own a pod. And thank god I don't pay for my music.
#70 - Nobody else would pay for "your" music either, but that's not what you meant, was it? It's not "your" music. It's the artist's music and it's that artist's choice whether or not they want to share it and for how much compensation, if any. If they want compensation for their product and you don't pay, you are a thief, period. If you think music should be free, then limit yourself to music made by artists who feel the same way.
Such narrow, self-serving thinking.
I would love to have been in Germany at the trade show when Apple and Luxpro got their shuffles out! I heard the Apple camp went bezzerk
Yes, yes, where can I buy one? It's clearly a superior product to Apple's more expensive offering. My only concern is that once Apple(tm) sues them out of business it will be hard to get firmware updates.
Idea for Apple: add an FM tuner/voice recorder to YOUR product and put them out of business without litigation.
RE:Super shuffle
2nd Generation shuffle player for those who wanted a radio. Both should be on the market since people
will buy either/or/both models depending on your needs.
see the funny thing is all the websites about this product will only heighten interest in it and it will sell more. oh well i just want to see the expression of thieves faces when they steel your 'Shuffle' and see its a fake and throw it back at you. shame ill just have to keep my creative muvo NX untill i have enough money to buy the creative zen micro. its much better than any i pod any way, and for the record i use i tunes and love it as well as other mac products, but as i like mp3 players for their ability not so i can look like every other rich twat who doesnt have enough imagination to get their own thought together to be different from all the other sheep out there.
regards olly
to all those saying that the super shuffle is a superior product because of its FM tuner and voice recorder... read this.
The chip used in the ipod shuffle is capable of not just voice recording and FM radio, but also an LCD. But apple chose specifically not to use these features.
I think there is a very good reason for this. Apple wanted to design the smallest, simplest player they possibly could. The shuffle can be turned on by sticking your hand in your pocket and adjusting the switch. IE no taking it out of your pocket. try doing that with the super shuffle - its two side-by-side switches make this much harder.
Try changing the settings on the super shuffle to what you want in less than a second, without looking at it.
No matter what anyone says, apple is going to (and already is) sell these by the truckload. I have a friend who bought an ipod for no reason other than the social standing it got him at his school. The ipods have an incredible coolness factor that nothing else has.
Here in Australia, it is very difficult to find stock of the shuffle. I phoned up a local Apple seller on the weekend at about 9am to ask if hey had any in stock. They had four. When I got there at 9:20, they had all been sold.
But if I wanted, say, an iRiver, I could walk into any store that stocks them and pick one up.
Back to the shuffle...Unless you have actually seen one, it is hard to comprehend how tiny the thing is. I doubt apple would have been able to add an LCD and keep the shuffle at the same size. And an LCD would probably have driven the cost up by at least $10-$15.
So to sum up
- the shuffle rocks
- it will sell on a scale never before seen by any MP3 player
- Oh yeah, i forgot, it has the greatest audio quality of any player that i have ever heard.
- Other players, even if they out-feature the ipod shuffle, simply will not sell anyhere near as well.
in case you've not seen this, you must read:
http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000650036878/
#69 and #70 and all the others always bitchin' about apple: after reading #77, it is just proving that Apple is a premium brand because it offers premium products that have been designed by people who care about design and functionality.
If you're a geek who only buys a product that has two features more that you will never use anyway, go ahead and knock yourself out.
But if you really like products that work, are designed so you can actually use them - well what else is there than Apple and iPods.
It's like riding a motorcycle: if I have to explain, you wouldn't understand.
If you don't like them, go somewhere else and buy the cheapy that doesn't exist. Brilliant :-)
It seems that this may not be a publicity stunt however. They are now actually being sold. Also, the name has been changed to Super Tangent and the clickwheel/whatever interface has been given a different look. I think I may actually want to buy myself one, now that they also offer them in black. I'll have it sit next to my iPod shuffle and bite each other's circuitry out.
Also, it seems that there will be a 4GB version with FireWire coming out, so guess I'll wait till the fourth quarter. It may be an April Fools prank, so I'll wait it out anyway. (And it also acts as a massager... now this is beginning to seem like a prank...dammit)