Unknown chip in new Shuffle, let’s all get our pitchforks!

by Justin Horn on Mar 16th, 2009 @ 5:49 pm

That’s basically the feeling I got from people when these rumors emerged after a reports by iLounge and Boing Boing Gadgets. I don’t blame iLounge for pointing out what was found, but I think they should have taken a more wait and see approach which is what I was suggesting. Turns out it was exactly (see update) as I presumed.

From Macrumors:

Macworld, however, contacted an Apple spokesman about the matter. While the spokesman confirmed the existence of the chip, its intended purpose is said to be related to the “Made for iPod” program alone. Boing Boing Gadgets was also able to speak with Apple and received what is so far the clearest explanation regarding whether the chip contains DRM:

• Just spoke with Apple. There is no encryption or authentication on the chip, so clones could conceivably be made, just not with “Made for iPod” official certification. And now we know!

UPDATE Macrumors have updated the article with the following:

Apple offers a “Made for iPod” licensing certification for accessories that work with their iPods. With the introduction of this chip, Apple seems to have extended “Made for iPod” certification to headphones/remotes that work with the iPod shuffle. Previously, these accessories were not required to be “Made for iPod” certified. So while there is no DRM in the chips, themselves, it is unlikely that a 3rd party manufacturer would be carried in an Apple Store unless they are “Made for iPod”. The implication is that Apple has further extended their control over 3rd party accessories for the iPod.

This puts me back into a more wait and see mode, but I still feel like this is going to turn out to be no big deal.

UPDATE Macworld says:

An Apple spokesman confirmed the presence of the chip to Macworld. “As part of the Made for iPod program, we make sure that third party headphones work properly with the third generation iPod shuffle,” the spokesman said.

However, there is no DRM in this new control chip, according to Monster Cable’s Kevin Lee, who added, “In fact, it’s not even authentication. It just gives us a way to control the iPod.”

So looks like I was right after all

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