New iPod Shuffle, now with “talkies”

Well, there you go. Seems the Apple Store was down today for good reason after all, as Apple has announced the new iPod Shuffle, “The first music player that talks to you.” It comes in only a 4GB model, holding up to 1,000 songs, and will retail for $79.00. Don’t worry, though, you do have one option; you can get it in gray or a little bit darker gray. But hey, it talks!

The new shuffle still features a built-in belt clip, but comes in a bit smaller overall: 1.8″ high, 0.7″ wide and 0.3″ deep. The rechargeable lithium polymer battery offers a playback time of up to 10 hours when fully charged.

“Whatever, Hiner, get to the point,” you say? Fine. The talking. It’s actually just voice over. With the push of a button, the iPod shuffle can tell you the name of the song you’re listening to, and the artist performing it. Yea! Because I have absolutely no idea what I’m ever listening to. “What’s the name of this song, again? Oh yeah. ‘Bohemian Rhapsody.’ By who? Oh yeah. Queen. Thank you, Apple!”

VoiceOver also tells you the name of the playlist, which Apple claims will make song navigation easier. I imagine this is true, as it’ll allow you to easily find the exact playlist you want. So, that’s cool. But real question amongst Apple fans is “What voice do they use? Fred? Victoria? You can hear a sample at Apple’s website. Know what would be cool? If you could download other voices. Impractical, yeah, but I think I’d enjoy having Jason Mraz tell me, “You’re listening to someone better than me.”

The new 3G iPod shuffle is available for order now, shipping in 3 to 5 business days. The 1GB 2G iPod shuffle is still available in five colors for $49.00.

Product [iPod shuffle]

See also New iPod Shuffle controls; bad for users, great for headphone manufacturers.