Although I haven't been an Apple iPod owner from the beginning of its MP3 player revolution, I have been a big fan starting with the 3rd generation (30GB), model. I followed that up with my current the 4th generation (40 GB). I wasn't that excited about the mini or the photo versions, but the newer shuffle did intrigue me. I was curious if it would be simpler or more complex to use a digital audio player which lacked a digital display.
The Shuffle is made of bright white shiny which feels much like the smooth end of a LEGO piece. Size-wise, this player is small and very light weight, not much bigger than a pack of gum. The front of the Shuffle has the control pad which consists of round dome shaped center Play/Pause button, with a 4 direction touch ring around it. The ring is also raised so that your thumb or finger tip will not have to guess where it is located. Pressing the ring up or down will adjust the volume level, while pressing the ring left or right will navigate through the stored tunes. The only problem that I have had with the buttons is with the Next Track/FF button. Although all the buttons have good tactile feedback, I found myself having to press that particular button repeatedly to skip to the next song. Sometimes it would require 3-4 presses before the press was recognized. This has been very annoying, though I can't be certain that this imperfection applies to all iPod Shuffles.
There is also a status LED that is embedded above the + button. This LED will glow amber when the battery is charging, and green when charging is complete. It will also blink in certain modes such as hold and disk transfers.
The internal battery is charged via a high-power USB port to computer system or power adapter. Full charging time is about 4 hours, with 80% charged in the first 2 hours. Rated for 12hrs of play time per charge, this player will get you through some really long flights with time to spare.
In addition to using the Shuffle as a digital audio player, you can also use it as a flash drive, to store and transfer any data files you need. Clear instructions for data storage are included in the users guide. Personally, this feature is very attractive to me. Not only does it discard the need to purchase a separate flash drive, I now have the ability to carry a large amount of data wherever I go, easily transferring data from one computer to the next.
In everyday use, I found the Shuffle to have really good sound. I'm not an musician, but I think I have a pretty decent ear and can tell if something sounds crappy or good. The Shuttle does sound good. That said, it does have a few probs. I've noticed that volume levels between sounds can be seriously out of wack. I found myself needing to adjust volume up or down every other song sometimes. This is strange since iTunes has a sound check feature built in. Go figure.
And now let's come back to my biggest gripe about this player... NO DISPLAY. I can't tell you how many times while I have been reviewing the Shuffle the last few weeks that I have heard a song I didn't know and looked down to see who was singing it, only to be annoying that the info was no where to be seen. The Shuffle could be sooooo much better if only it had a teeny weenie itty bitty display. Even one line that would scroll the artist name and song name would be terrific. As is, it just makes me grumpy whenever I discover some old tune that I've not heard in forever or ever and want to know who it is. In retrospect shouldn't really condemn the Shuffle for not having an LCD. It functions just fine as a basic player for those who don't need to know artists and song titles. It's tiny. It will go with you anywhere and everywhere. Battery life is very good. Price isn't too terribly bad. My opinion is that the Shuffle is great for runners, joggers, or anyone else that is really active. It's not so good for someone in their car, or at the office because they might want to see the song info and there's no where to see it on this little player. |