The Pond

Kyle and I picked up a new iPod 3G each last night (me = black, Kyle = silver). They are definitely adorable. Just a few things we discovered:

Before they are loaded with music, they come with a voiceover note saying to please connect it to iTunes to load music. I don’t remember the exact wording, but…I thought it was cute.

As far as headphones go, the iPod does start playing when a headphone is connected to it, regardless of whether is it the 3G headphone or not. The 3G headphones are not the same as the headphones released earlier this year — they do not contain a microphone.

The shuffle 3g works with the (newest) Apple in-ear headphones in exactly the same manner as the bundled ones. Presumably, they would also work correctly with the volume/action/mic headphones released along with the new in-ears. The iPhone headphones’ action button does not function with the shuffle, nor does the Shure iPhone adapter.

The 3G headset does work as an action button with the iPhone, obviously without a mic. The 3G headphone also works with the new Macbook pros (unibody) as a remote for tracks and for volume. Unfortunately, iTunes 8.1 does not have voiceover, so clicking and holding the button doesn’t really do anything except pause the music when let go.

Anyway, the new shuffle itself is rather nice. Figuring out how to sync music to it, getting enough on the iPod without overflowing it was a bit of trial and error. Generally I keep my iPhone sync’d to iTunes, so there is approx 11GB of ‘checked’ music in iTunes, so…I  made some smart playlists to contain a random sampling of stuff to fill up the iPod.

Generally voiceover is pretty good, though it does read things a little faster than I would like — I haven’t found a setting for voice speed yet, but…I’ll have to look around again.

All in all, the shuffle is a well done device. If you need something super portable that can be run without looking at it, the shuffle is a great choice. If you’re going to be irritated by having to use Apple headphones (or a forthcoming adapter), and don’t really buy into the non-visual navigation, then you want a nano.

I’m happy with the shuffle, however. Hopefully as things warm up here in Massachusetts, I’ll get a chance to use it outdoors more often