On Wednesday, March 11th, Apple released yet a new innovation on the iPod Shuffle, which is known as the most economic iPod.
   This new iPod is a far cry from the usual iPod Shuffle. Now, the controls have been moved from the actual body, to the earphone jack. According to Apple, anyone who wants to use their own third-party headphones will be required to purchase a third-party Shuffle-controlling dongle that will attach to both the iPod and the headphones. It didn’t take long for the blogosphere to erupt and start saying that this is like the recessed iPhone jack of 2009, in reference to the first-generation iPhone earphone jack that required an adapter for some headphones. Many online blogs erupted that it was completely unfair to have to pay $15-20 for a headphone jack adapter to use third-party headphones. An iPod Shuffle is still cheaper than even the low-end iPod Nano, so it all depends on your values. Getting the lower model, the Shuffle, while it does not feature a screen, will hold the same amount of songs for a significantly cheaper price.
   Still, this iPod adapter, just to use third party headphones, seems completely unfair. From a business perspective, this move makes perfect sense. Executives at companies like Griffin and Belkin are probably salivating at the thought of being able to produce dongles for third-party headphones. It’s just another iPod “necessity” that these companies can release and profit from.
   Regardless, even with the adapter included, there is still a $50 difference between the new iPod Shuffle and the iPod Nano, so there should not be a huge outcry over the unfair situation; the iPod Shuffle is still a great deal.