doesn't $99 seem high for only 512 megabytes of storage?

I think its comparable with other flash players. But when you compare it to $300 for 20gigs, it seems steep.

i don't know if this product will be a success. it's nice that it's so small, but i'm not sure if people will always want to listen to their music on random rotation. there's no screen and it's not possible to go directly to a specific song.

yeah, at least you have a screen with an ipod...

how about a 500 dollar computer? this any better than the 99 dollar ipod - they're looking straight at you dell.

I agree with Paul on this one. I don't like the fact that you can't see what track you're listening to on a display, an option that is available on other MP3 players of about the same size. The new headless Mac is interesting though. Users have been demanding this from Apple for years, and now they've pulled through. Can't wait to see what this is going to do for the Mac user base.

by the way - watch out for the tv ads for the shuffle. our friends at logan did them and they look hot.

the ipod shuffle is similar to the Creative Muvo player....and you can get a 512 mb muvo player with FM capability for around 110$, and though there's no playlist support, you can arrange the order of songs in your computer, though one has to use the shitty creative interface.
the ipod shuffle does look like a flop

but the 500dollar comp is sure very nice

it's a desirability thing - having the look and wearing it on your neck - while I'm not buying, these things will probably fly off the shelf - they do know how to make things look good.

iPod Shuffle does have a Play in Order mode, so you just set up the playlist in iTunes.

I might have to finally upgrade the old MD for this.

I don't know. I still have a screen with an MD player-and it is about 99 dollars these days. 512 mb isn't enough space.

I have 1GB MMC card in my Nokia 6230 with mp3 player (and Radio)
You can make playlists, and it plays AAC and Mp3 files. The MMC card was around $100.

I have a creative muvo slim mp3 for only $99. It is 512 mb and has fm radio, fm recording, voice recording and all those modes you are talking about. The batt is rechargable through the usb port.

I find it hard to buy an ipod that can't even listen to the radio. I don't need an ipod with so much memory, because I already have two computers. Whats the use?

I think it's a good thing to have on a backpacking trip or while snowboarding...
More expendable to lose/break than a 500$ IPOD with a lifetime collection of tunes...

i expect better from Apple than to market disposable mp3 players that are kindergarten light in terms of memory and functions. having no screen is a huge mistake. This would have been amazing 3 years ago before ipof G1 came out but the Apple bar is so high that we deserve better.

and if apples marketing gets any cheesier i will have to move on from that company.

speaking of lacking of functions, the fact that there STILL is no fm radio or recording support for the ipod are major reasons why I'm not making the transition yet. I'm looking at other players like the jetAudio line. They may not be any cheaper, but they have a hell of a lot more functions.

quoting Sim Wong Hoo, Creative CEO :
"We’re expecting a good fight but they’re coming out with something that’s five generations older. It’s our first generation MuVo One product feature, without display, just have a (shuffle feature). We had that — that’s a four-year-old product. So I think the whole industry will just laugh at it, because the flash people — it’s worse than the cheapest Chinese player. Even the cheap, cheap Chinese brand today has display and has FM. They don’t have this kind of thing, and they expect to come out with a fight; I think it’s a non-starter to begin with."
This I found in engadget You can also find there intruction to turn your Ipod into a Ipod shuffle in 3 easy steps...