Just the last couple days, I went back to using my 15gb iPod for walks instead of the shuffle. MUCH better. I really hate not having a screen. Now I can play the exact podcast I want to play.
Neither a big iPod nor the current shuffle are ideal. Yesterday when walking the dog, carrying a leash holder in one hand and my iPod 15 in the other, I got a phone call. So I was trying to hold three devices at once and a car was coming which meant I needed to somehow control the leashholder too. Bad news - the dog lived - but it was too close for comfort - if Duffy had run into the street just as the car was passing - no more dog.
I would have had my shuffle around my neck and could have just dropped it and answered the cell phone with my free hand.
The rumor is that a 2 gig shuffle with a screen is on the way. There are a bunch of rumors about a new flash based shuffle with more space. AppleInsider has a story on it. The most iffy part of the rumor is whether it will have a screen.
I'll tell you right now. I'm not getting a new bigger shuffle without a screen. The one I have now will do for situations where space is in short supply.
However, since most people use their iPods exclusively for music, quite a few will like getting more space for more songs. Then, the only problem they'll have is figuring out which song is playing if they have lots of new songs and just bought a new batch like I did recently. I wanted to know but couldn't find out which song was which - who the artist was, etc..
Don't get me wrong. I love the form factor of the shuffle and it looks cool as all hell. But, without a screen, it sucks for me. Especially for podcasts. It's not like it doesn't matter or it's cool to be surprised by which podcast it is. It's not like with songs where lots of different ones will do. With podcasts, I want a particular podcast - not just anyone's and I want to be able to choose the date of that podcast.
Steve Jobs was just saying that the next version of iTunes (4.9) is going to support podcasting. Hopefully, they'll realize that support of podcasting, should include a shuffle with a small screen.
