www.geoffmitchell.com

I feel a bit like a traitor, sitting here in the campus cafe, drinking my coffee and wearing black ear buds, not white. That’s right, I’m at Apple, I’m wearing black ear buds with black cords plugged into a black shuffle cranking out the thumping drum beat of 80’s era Fleetwood Mac as Lindsey stammers and stutters his way through a marching band backed refrain…. “t-t-t-Tusk”. So where’s my white earbuds? Well, these Sony’s capture all the deep bone-vibrating bass and drum beats worthy of this 25th Anniversary re-mastered deluxe version of their recording, that’s why. And as trendy as it is to “walk the white line” when it comes to MP3 fashion, these blow away the packaged earphones.

But that’s not why I feel like a traitor.

Did I mention the color of the shuffle?

Yes, that’s right, it’s black. And as such, given that no black model exists, it’s either a prototype or a nock off. Believe me, were this a prototype, I’d certainly not sit in the café wearing it. Not for long, that is. I’d quickly be approached by two martix-inspired agents, dark glasses and coiled earphones included, and summarily ’shuffled’ off to a room where I’d be shown the contract I signed by a man wielding garden shears as he pointed out the clause where I said I’d give my left nut before I’d disclose company secrets.

It’s a nock off, an overseas imitation, made without any rights to do so. It’s a bit bold to so publicly display it on campus. Remember this is an unauthorized copy of a a product we make, not a consumer choice between a Zune or an iPod…. as if such a thing exists. The makers of this product openly and aggressively violated our patents and design. The packing was even identical to that of a shuffle. Identical! Hell, Phil Schiller just walked through the café and I started to wonder if this is such a good idea. Were Steve or Jonathon Ive to walk in I don’t know if I’d hide it or show them an ask what they’re doing to prevent it? But then again I can’t and don’t assume they don’t know. I know for a fact that Apple’s aware of and working to address this, but internal law is a bit of a sticky business.

As far as sound and features, I have to admit that the sound is very good. That’s coming from a non-audiophile set of ears that have lost hearing after way too many full volume playbacks of “Won’t Get Fooled Again”. There does not appear to be a true, ’shuffle’ mode, at least not that I’ve found, but I’ll just load on shuffled music to start with. It does not appear within iTunes so loading it is a manual process, although the app I use for my Treo helps with that. And the battery life is allegedly only 4hrs or so, far less then a legitimate iPod Shuffle.

If I am so opposed to the fact that they’ve copied our design and packaging down to the letter, why did I buy it? That’s a reasonable question. Primarily, because it was SO damned cheap (Under $20) and because I didn’t think they’d be around long and wanted one for posterity. I really don’t use a shuffle, I have my Treo and it’s my MP3 player, but when i saw the articles about this and all the buzz about the rip off of the design and how quickly it’d be shut down, I just wanted to snag one for the history of it, before they were gone.

Like I said…. I feel a bit like a traitor. In my own desire to have it for the wow factor, I’ve support it’s production and it’s taking away from Apple’s own sales. Bad employee. Bad Bad Bad employee. But I did fwd the info to a friend in the iPod division and they confirmed that legal was aware and engaged. So why are these still available? I won’t link to them here but they’re still online and selling. I’ll enjoy showing this to friends and i’ll likely use it for some moderate neighborhood walking and other ad hoc needs, but the “Shuffle” this induces will be one of my feet as I stare at them and admit to having supported their existence in the market place.