"Super Shuffle" a Marketing Stunt?

March 20th, 2005 at 2:00 PM - News by Bryan Chaffin

The Super Shuffle that exactly copied Appleis iPod shuffle was nothing more than a marketing stunt, according to an article published by Engadget. The Super Shuffle made headlines earlier in March when it was shown by Taiwanese manufacturer LuxPro at CeBit, the German electronics trade show. According to Engadget, however, the device was never meant to be published, and was only intended to draw Appleis legal guns, along with the corresponding publicity to LuxProis manufacturing and design abilities.

The storyis source is a letter from an electronics manufacturing exec that Engadget didnit name. In addition, the story was not double sourced or confirmed, and should be received accordingly. The execis letter, however, makes for interesting reading.

According to the letter, this executive contacted LuxPro after hearing about the Super Shuffle, as he was interested in having LuxPro make a new product for his own company. After contacting the company, he said, he was eventually told the truth.

"LuxPro had a USB 2.0 based music player architecture already in development," he wrote, "when Apple launched the shuffle, in January. The guys at LuxPro hatched a plan to leverage the media attention created by Apple to their advantage. They are a contract manufacturer, making their living by selling their circuitry, put into enclosures designed by U.S. or European branded resellers. So, they saw this adventure as a wonderful way to swing the worldis spotlight in their direction for a few days.

There is more in the full article at Engadget. As of this writing, LuxPro is still showing the Super Shuffle on its Web site, along with several other music players.