Apple products come with three qualities– simplicity, sleek body and minimalistic design. The latest 3rd Generation iPod Shuffle boasts all the three qualities but I think Apple may have gone too far with minimalism. The new iPod Shuffle is totally different from its predecessor and adopts a flash drive-esque form factor with just one button on the whole player and the music controls placed on earphones. We tried out the Shuffle for a considerable amount of time to let you know if Apple’s minimalistic approach is worth your money.

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Read the rest of iPod Shuffle 3rd Generation (4GB) Review (443 words)

The company that has developed a habit of calculating the hardware costs of devices has surfaced again, this time claiming the costs of the third gen iPod Shuffle. As with any other previous estimates given by them, this one too excludes the R&D and marketing expenses. Anyways, here’s the figure. It costs just under $22 ($21.77 to be exact), including the player, headphones and the packaging. That’s just 28% of the retail price and as they note, it is the most profitable iPod as far as the component costs are concerned.

The major beneficiary from the supplier’s lot is Samsung who happens to be supplying them with the chip and the 4GB memory, both valued at around $6.

[Bizweek via PMPToday]

Apple India has announced the Indian pricing as well as a tentative release period for the third gen iPod Shuffle that was unveiled yesterday. If the on-earbud controls are not much of a concern then you’ll be able to pick this one up for Rs. 4,900 within 4 weeks in silver or black. To reiterate, the new Shuffle comes with 4GB storage, is slimmer and taller and features Voiceover function that speaks out the song and the artist name when activated.

Apple’s cheapest iPod has got a makeover. The new iPod Shuffle sports a long, slim rectangular design and ditches most of the buttons found on the second gen Shuffle. The player integrates only ON/play in order/shuffle button while the volume and presumably play/pause will be controlled via the bundled earphone cord. Another interesting thing is the Voiceover feature that tells which song is playing along with the artist name. It will be available in 4GB storage option, in black or silver for just $79.

PS: If you still have a penchant for the second gen Shuffle, Apple will be selling them too.

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