iPod for the Blind

Meet the new iPod shuffle. Now with the new feature of: if you lose the earbuds, you have to buy the same pair from Apple since the shuffle can only be controlled with the earbuds. Yes, the iPod shuffle has no buttons at all (aside from the lock/shuffle/switch).

I guess this is still for those people who workout and need music but don't want to buy the iPod nano, which to me, is light enough and more full-featured than the shuffle.

Who will benefit from the new shuffle? People whose ears fit perfectly with the earbuds, who take good care of the shoddy earbuds so it won't break or get lost, and for blind people. There's a new feature where a robot tells you the name of the song and artist if you hold the special button on the earbuds long enough. Then if you hold it even longer it tells you your playlists. This makes me wonder why one doesn't get the nano instead. If you're literally blind, I understand then this feature, but it seems infinitely wiser if you can see with your eyes, to look at screen and choose your next song.

Still, Apple is apple. I'm always going to pine for a MacBook Pro. Sigh.