Apple Launches iPod Shuffle VoiceOver Upgrade

Author	Gordon Kelly
Published	13th Apr 2009

Apple Launches iPod Shuffle VoiceOver Upgrade

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My distain for the new iPod shuffle is well known, so let's keep this brief and as neutral as possible...

In an effort to help improve a problem it only has itself to blame for creating Apple has released an update for its VoiceOver feature to improve pronunciation of artists, albums and song titles.

Version 1.0.1 is a 17MB download which corrects a large amount of linguistic soup salad and also addresses "minor bug fixes". Naturally enough Apple hasn't said what these bug fixes are or which/how many bands and their work will now we said correctly. An update is being spun to Mac OS X owners as we speak, while it is also apparently available for download from the main site (be darned if I can find it though). No Windows version has been produced at this time, so that's hard cheese to 90 per cent of the market.

Will regular updates now be required for VoiceOver to constantly keep up with new convoluted artist titles? Are Hungarian music aficionados pulling their hair out? Couldn't this all have been avoided by adding a screen, keeping on player controls and not forcing all to upgrade our third party headphones?! *Deep breath*

Right, time for me to go relax by listening to Sigur Rós' Viðrar vel til loftárása from Ágætis byrjun...

Link:
via Yahoo! News

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Stephen Allred said on 13th April 2009

Gordon, quick question. Will someone who buys a shuffle upgrade to 3rd party headphones?

Gordon said on 13th April 2009

@Stephen Allred - unless they want their ears polluted by the rubbish Apple bundles with its iPods and iPhones, yes. Problem is they won't have much choice - there are only a ... more

Stephen Allred said on 14th April 2009

Gordon, you really think someone paying £60 for a media player is going to pay more money for headphones?

gareth edwards said on 28th May 2009

Well, I've been using my new shuffle now for a month or so (free from Apple as an apology for the mess over my iMac with the infamous Radeon HD 4850) and I have to say that I'm impressed even with the odd niggle.

The good...
Battery life is HUGE for such a little device,getting around the 10hr mark as per spec.
Sound quality is better than you would expect from such a small device as well. Nothing to write home about but it is good (much better than my first gen shuffle).
The new earphones (electrocuting users aside) are a vast improvement over old ones, they are smaller and as a consequence, much more comfortable (IMO) - the older ones left me feeling like I'd had a smack round the lug holes.
Design - well it's typical 'Ives' - it's not just less is more it's almost 'nowt is all your getting and it's all you need'. Lovely none the less, a real stab at functional minimalism that works perfectly (if you accept the obvious limitations of not having a screen). Oddly enough though I am surprised there's no warning on it saying that small kids could choke on it, I mean, it's not until you have it in your hand that you actually realize how small this thing actually is -I've had bigger splinters.
Weight - not an issue, it's so small and light you forget you are wearing it (there's a thing - just like the last one it's at home on clothing far more than in your pockets).

The bad...
the only bad bits from my POV are the earphones BUT for the average joe they're fine (as long as you have a set that doesn't try to zap your ears). Want some non apple ones - they are available and I suspect that the new inline controls will become standard on apple kit in the future (if they have any sense).

Voice-Over - it's not really bad, ok so there will always be problems with obscure music (of which I have a good hundred or so albums) but that aside it's a good first effort and I'm sure it will continue to improve.

It's not an obvious choice if you're gonna buy an MP3 player (and there are better choices for your money) but as a stocking filler or a gift it is knockout.

Well, I've been using my new shuffle now for a month or so (free from Apple as an apology for the mess over my iMac with the infamous Radeon HD 4850) and I have to say that I&... more

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