Is it possible that the iPod Shuffle became buttonless specifically to convince 3rd party accessory manufacturers to build headphones and other accessories with in-line controllers?
Of course 3rd party manufacturers have supported this feature since the original iPhone first debuted but up until now the feature has only existed in headphones, but clearly it would work in other places as well.
A 3rd party manufacturer will have to come up with a solution that allows an iPod Shuffle owner to use his device in their car, why not put that little control in the cable of a cassette tape adapter, or maybe even just a regular 3.5mm headphone cable that would plug one end into your iPod Shuffle and the other into the head unit of your car?
Not only would this benefit iPod Shuffle owners but nearly everyone who owns an iPod from the most recent generation or any iPhone.
The buttonless iPod Shuffle may seem silly to a lot of you but this might have been that little extra push that Apple needed to give 3rd party manufacturers to convince them to make more accessories supporting this wonderful new feature.