iPod shuffle teardown: guts weigh just 10% more than sheet of paper
By Thomas Ricker 
posted March 13th 2009 2:52AM
posted March 13th 2009 2:52AM
Regular readers, you know the drill: interesting product introduced, product splayed wide for nerdgasm pulp. iFixIt has the honors again, this time aiming its Xacto at the new iPod shuffle. After the usual struggle to open Apple's un-serviceable (by consumers) gear, iFixIt notes that the functioning parts of the 3rd gen shuffle weigh only 10% more than a single sheet of letter-sized paper. Hit that read link for the visual gore -- pretty amazing stuff at this scale.
[Via 9to5 Mac]
So has this Apple product finally reached the size of Job's pee-pee? Or are they going to come up with some thing smaller yet?
"The new iPod Shuffle - so small that if you swallow it by mistake, it won't hurt on the way out."
hmm...
is anybody so weak that they require an MP3 player lighter than the average coin?
Honestly, tiny buttons, they only weigh a few grams each.
"What's wrong? Did you swallow another cell phone?"
You folks are kidding me, right?
Didn't you watch the SNL show where Steve Jobs introduced the iPod Micro? This new Shuffle is really just a Micro.
Wait for it....wait for it....
And now comes the iPod Pacanyo.
And hold your breath....hold it...
Here's the iPod Invisa.
seriously this is dumb as shit and anyone who doesn't think so is out of their goddamn mind
oh and apple fanboys before you downvote me i typed that from my macbook
I still downvoted you. Just because you have a Mac doesn't mean you don't get downvoted. You contributed NOTHING. "Dumb as shit" - Really? I'll stick with being able to shit. Good luck with getting surgery every time you need to go to the crapper.
Oh, and I think you'll find that a HUGE amount of people are "out of their mind".
kizorblade i cannot for the life of me decipher what the hell you're trying to say
this product is a joke. it makes the macbook wheel seem like a viable progression of apple's current product philosophy; seemingly simplistic products that, in reality, accomplish their "simple" functions in incredibly convoluted ways. thank god they're still selling the previous shuffle because it's miles ahead of this thing.
/Sigh
If you don't think it's useful, you're not the target market.
Most people use the headphones supplied with the iPod: They don't know better.
And it is simple to use, haven't you seen the video?
that's a pretty convenient way to address any criticism of a product
"i personally think that a computer that can only run ms paint is a pretty terrible product"
"well you're just not in the target market"
and no, it's not simple to use. certainly not simpler than back and forward and play buttons. was that a huge problem for people? were shuffle owners send apple letters, "i've had it with these fucking buttons! also, put in a terrible synthesized voice so i can remember what music i listen to because i am a child"
seriously who needs to know what song they're listening to!? do people tend to listen to songs that they don't know? i would hope that if you downloaded or ripped a song you had enough interest in that artist to know their music.
i've never been this enraged by a product before, because it's just simply stupid as hell, and it makes me embarrassed to own a computer by a company who's just put out a product that honestly could have been the feature of an onion article
First of all I own apple products..
This new shuffle is a useless piece of crap... oh looks like someone posted already :).
Ahhh, "useless"
Because you can't listen to music using it right?
Because you can't use it as a USB stick, right?
Kizorblade,
Just stop, you are embarrassing yourself and exposing just how much of an Apple shill you truly are.
"To go to the next track, you have to sneeze."
http://www.homespine.net
fixed storage
+
non-removable battery
=
disposable electronics
Even grandpa can't believe the waste. All the while the marketing machines of large corporations talk about being green and 'care' for the environment. Yes, and I care enough never to buy your disposable toys.
What would be interesting is to ask Apple how much a replacement battery costs...
I'm wondering how much the parts costs..isupply?
I've been using my 2g ipod nano for almost 3 years now... Still only have to charge it once a week.
In the meantime, I've gone through about 8 AA rechargeable batteries for my digital camera. Granted, I've recycled them, but I still think that rechargeable batteries aren't really that viable.
Everyone should just block sales on products that have non-removable batteries. There's some countries in the EU already that is blocking this since 30th July 2008. At that time it said, that old products may still be sold, but new ones are completely banned, so I wonder if I'll find this thing in a store now.
The read link says the replacement battery costs $49, or 62% of the player itself.
Stubb, thanks for that...I skimmed. Not cheap, eh.
erufiku,
8 rechargeable batteries past their useful life for your cam? How old were they? What brand? What charger? Were they used in other devices? Seems very unusual to chew through 8 batteries to the end of their useful lives, even in 3 years (though you didn't state age). Even considering the cam is using a lot more power per-hour-of-use than the Shuffle, that doesn't seem right with any half-decent batteries and charger, unless you are really using it heaps and recharging daily (but even then with multiple sets of batteries, you still shouldn't see premature death unless you are talking about a high-use dedicated flash unit, perhaps). I have AAs going back many years (but they aren't recharged daily).
I don't see how they can not be viable. But really it's not just about AAs, but using any removable battery. Obviously in this form-factor an AA would be too big. But you look at mobile phones, PDAs, cams with their own Lithium Ion batteries, etc...nobody is saying a removable is not viable there. All it takes is a different philosophy from the manufacturer. Too many are copying Apple in this department, also... so this is not just directed at Apple. They need to practice what they love to preach (environmental consciousness, etc)
I'm getting so tired of all those Apple haters. To the point I don't even want to read comments on Apple related articles.
To be clear, I DON'T like this new iPod Shuffle thing. I don't like it, I don't buy it. Period.
I don't see why every single bit of information/spec/rumor appearing on Engadget immediately becomes a pretext to flame Apple.
If you don't like Apple's products (which I perfectly understand), just don't buy them and don't write negative comments on every Apple related article you see. You probably have something more interesting to do, don't you. Don't you?
Now go on, vote this comment down if you want.
I suggest you eat some of your own medicine, if you don't like these posts - don't read them and definitely don't comment on them.
They are trolls, they can't help it. They consider anyone who appreciates Apple products to be a "fanboy"
So what is a 'fanboy'?
(from wikipedia) Fanboy is a term used to describe any individual who is devoted to a single subject in an emotional or fanatical manner, or to a single point of view within that subject, often to the point where it is considered an obsession.
So you see, these useless trolls are nothing more than exactly what they are rallying against. They are true fanboys. They are devoted to berating Apple, they get very emotional & worked up about it (by posting multiple times on the same thread) they have a single point of view (Apple = bad) and they are obsessed with it. Apple could come up with a cure for cancer & they would put a negative spin on it.
@Skeezle
So what you're trying to say is, that all this these people are the exact opposite of you?
No, CJ - I am saying they are EXACTLY like you! Positng on pretty much only Apple topics so you can express how much you think they suck. I think Dell blows, yet I don't feel the burning need to post comments whenever they are written about here. Actually, I usually don't even bother reading the post. Why? Because I think Dell sucks. See how that works?
No, it's 'useless' as in 'awkward', 'unintuitive' and 'fiddly'.
This isn't an Apple thing, it's a bad product thing.
Engadget post googles of Apple products for a simple reason
ITS EASY!
The responses for any Apple item skyrocket in comparison to all other items.
The views skyrocket for the Apple product in comparison to all other items.
So if they can get significantly more traffic to their website with less effort, it sounds like a win for them.
If you don't want them to post Apple products stop going to the Apple products postings on their page.
Very Simple.
This is actually nothing but a 4GB flash drive with a bit of sound processing hardware. Nothing amazing.
I like these apple articles just cause i like to read all the sniping and arguing in the comments. =)
This product will not be hard to use, I have the new in-ear headphones for Apple for my iPhone 3G
Admittedly, yes the volume controls don't work , but I still have those on the side of my phone, not that hard to reach towards my pocket and press the buttons.
Anyway, with my experience of these headphones, they're simple to use, the only new feature is to hold the button in, what can be so difficult about that?
i would like to see a bunch of these being blended on a blender on youtube soon...
Please, please TRIM YOUR NAILS !!!
I don't care what all of you say - this is a fucking cool piece of technology.
Will I buy one? Yes! In 30 years or so they'll have large quantities of them in bins at the dollar store next to the stationary. I'll give it to my first-born child as a novelty gift as a segue into the whole "when I was your age..." speech.
What is with people doing breakdowns that have the NASTIEST fingernails ever? Disgusting! Please, go trim those things. Do you not see the shit that's under them? You obviously don't get any action. That's just unhygienic!
Is it unibody?
Hasn't anyone noticed - who ever belongs to those hands needs to clean their nails - manicure.
"We have made our first revolutionary U.I., with the mouse.."
"Our second was the click wheel.."
"Our third was Multi-Touch.."
"And now, we have now made a revolutionary U.I. using, Headphones!"
Imagine Jobs himself, saying that.. ^.^
THAT GUY HAS A DIRTY NAIL.
I guess this means it can't be used as a paper weight? =/
-Blade Genexis
I think they should call it the "Shittle".
What a joke!!!
On a plus side it will slide nice and easy in your a** because that is where it needs to be shoved!
-KingJackass