I’ll be the first to admit that my love for my iPod is nearly boundless. And the new Shuffle design has me practically giddy. 1.8″ by .3″ and the new VoiceOver feature is going to be hard to beat.
However, there’s got to be room for more than just Apple style. A new MP3 player is about to come on to the market that while probably not giving the Shuffle a run for its money should at least make the playing field more interesting.
Introducing The Vitamin from iXing
Designed by Sangnam Park, this little pill is actually an MP3 player. It supports only MP3 and WMA files (which means I’m not getting it since my entire library is in AAC format, a far superior format to MP3 imo). It also has a 30 channel FM tuner, though seriously I don’t really know anyone that listens to the radio anymore. Even I get my NPR via the internet these days.
Other than the novelty of its looks I really don’t think it can outdo the Shuffle. But I do think style is a valid consideration when shopping for an MP3 player so I can’t count it out just yet. I honestly like the design. To change tracks you just twist the pill one way, or to go back a track, twist it the other way. I also like the display, which the Shuffle lacks.
I don’t know yet how they are going to manage volume control (possibly on the head phones themselves?).
Also there is no info on the capacity, at least none that I could find. But it should hold a minimum of 1000 songs (or appox. 4 GB) if it wants to be competitive.
via Gizmodo