The third generation iPod Shuttle came out and the guys at the Consumerist pointed out that it comes with some dubious features. It may have better sound, but be prepared to shell more cash for decent headphones with the iPod seal of approval.

The iLounge gives us the skinny: the new Shuttle does not have any buttons on itself, which means that the only way to operate this device is with the headphones that Apple supplies with the Shuttle. (Third party headphones will be built to specs with the permission of Apple, and no doubt will cost more than buying a regular set.)

It’s just DRM, pure and simple. You cannot customise your Shuttle as you like it, I cannot use my Skullcandy earbuds, and if some clever person tries to reverse engineer the chip, that’s violating the DMCA.

I’m sticking to my trusty 40 buck 2 gig player, until it gives out. Then I’ll get myself a Cowon and enjoy my OGG files.

This entry was posted on Monday, March 16th, 2009 at 11:43 am and is filed under Open Source. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.