I wasn’t really sure how to take the design of the new Shuffle. If you look at this from a *customer focussed* design perspective I guess the focus has been on out-and-out minimalism and from that end it must be a design success.

The voice over and earphone mounted controls however, whilst a boon for accessibility (for visually impaired), are definitely controversial and may be seen by many as a regression in usable control.

Only time will tell I guess.