Other MP3 vendors miss the point on the iPod shuffle

According to Playlistmag.com, the
response of other portable audio players to the iPod shuffle was ho hum. Overwhelmingly the response has been, essentially, that the iPod shuffle lacks features and therefore won't offer any serious competition to the already established flash player market.

Poppycock.

They used the exact same argument to whine about how the original iPod should never have been so popular. It is not the smallest nor the lightest nor the largest capacity nor the player packed with the most features and yet – sales figures do not lie. I've said it before and I'll say it again: more features crammed into a confusing interface does not a better player make. This is exactly what the other MP3 player manufacturers get wrong. When does less become more? When it makes the device easier and more intuitive to use.

"But there's no screen!" So what? I already know what's in my music collection. And if it's something I've just downloaded and I don't know who the artist is when I hear it, I can look up the lyrics online and find out. This is not rocket science. Back before we knew everything there was a little thing called curiosity. The iPod shuffle? Color me curious.