Apple iPod Shuffle 1st Generation White (512 MB) MP3 Player
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Similar in MP3 Players
- Number of Songs: 120
- Usage: Music
- Interface: USB 2.0
- Main Storage Type: Built-in Memory
- Storage Capacity: 512 MB
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Apple iPod Shuffle (512 MB) - You Get What You Pay For
Pros
very small, sleek, great iTunes software, easy to use, decent price
Cons
no LCD screen, holds only 120 songs, overpriced accessories, no AM/FM tuner
Recommended it?
No
The Bottom Line:
The iPod Shuffle costs only $99. It is this a good thing or a bad thing?
A few days ago Steve Jobs, the CEO of Apple, announced that his company would begin selling iPods for only $99. This announcement intrigued me a lot because iPods, the popular MP3 players that have become a symbol of status, are known for their quality, sleekness and high prices. If iPod prices were slashed to under $100, there would be consumer chaos. Fortunately, the new and cheaper iPods are known as the iPod Shuffle.
The iPod Shuffle is a very small device that stores and plays music files. When you pick up and hold one of these devices in your hand, you will be amazed at how small they are. They are about the same size as a portable USB flash memory drive and smaller than a pack of gum. With a ruler, I found it to be roughly 3.5 inches long, 1 inch wide and a third of an inch thick. The player also weighs less than an ounce, and it is very hard to even notice the weight when you place it in your pocket. All iPod Shuffle units come in only one color – white.
The button lay-out on this new iPod makes the player extremely easy to operate. The front of the unit has a wheel-like interface. The outer buttons on the wheel can be clicked to raise/lower the volume and to skip between tracks. The middle can be clicked to play or pause a song. The upper part of the unit features a headphone jack while the bottom of the unit has a USB connector than can be hidden with the provided USB cap. The backside of the iPod shuffle has the iPod logo, a battery indicator light and a slider. The slider is a revolutionary addition to the iPod family, as it has three different settings. The first setting is Off, the second turns the unit on and plays all songs in correct order, while the third setting shuffles your songs and plays them in random order.
By reading the paragraph above you probably noticed that the iPod Shuffle is missing something very important – a LCD screen. Without a LCD screen, you can't see what track is playing, how much time is left until the song ends and how many tracks you have on your iPod Shuffle. I am a big fan of LCD displays on MP3 players, so I feel that something is definitely missing whenever I operate the iPod Shuffle.
The iPod Shuffle that I have been using for the past few days is the 512 megabyte version that can store up to 120 songs. I was able to transfer 112 songs before it said that no more could be stored. Overall, there was nearly eight hours of music ready to be played. Honestly, 120 songs isn't that much and for those of you that want to listen to a large chunk of their music collection, you should opt for another player. I also realized that after a week, I have grown tired of the songs on my iPod Shuffle and I had to delete all of the songs and add on new ones. A one-gigabyte version of the iPod Shuffle that holds 240 songs also exits, and it costs $50 more than the version that I have. However, I don't think it is a solid investment.
The battery life of an MP3 player is always a crucial aspect. The iPod Shuffle was able to deliver slightly less than 12 hours of playing time after my initial charge. Considering the fact that the iPod Shuffle is meant to be used while exercising, the battery life is decent and I am do not feel that users should complain about it. Charging it is fairly simple – you just plug it into any available USB port in your PC and the iPod will begin to charge. It takes about four hours to recharge a completely depleted unit.
Transferring songs onto your iPod is incredibly simple. Each iPod comes with iTunes software (compatible with both Macintosh and Windows operating systems). You plug in your iPod exactly like you would when you are planning to recharge it, and when you install the software, you can begin transferring your songs right away. The iTunes software is extremely user-friendly and since iPods support basically all files (MP3, WAV, etc), you will have up to 120 songs from your music collection on your iPod in a matter of a few minutes. The transfer speeds are blazing fast. If you wish to, you can also create playlists and transfer those as well. The iTunes software is also affiliated with the iTunes Music Store, so you can legally download songs without having to look for an online service such as Napster.
The AutoFill function is something that is being marketed heavily in liaison with the iPod Shuffle. Back in the day, the only way to transfer songs onto your iPod would be to manually drag songs, albums or playlists. Now, you can have iTunes AutoFill your iPod Shuffle. You can have it AutoFill it with any songs (preference goes toward songs that are rated higher by you) or songs from certain playlists. This is a fairly good feature because I like to be occasionally surprised by a song that I haven't heard in months.
The sound quality on the iPod Shuffle is pretty good if you use a good pair of headphones, although the sound is not as crisp and the volume is not as loud as it is on the normal iPods because the iPod Shuffle is obviously less powerful. There are no factory-preset or custom equalizers, so you can't tweak the sound to your liking. Unless you have files that are corrupt in the first place, none of your music will be distorted.
The iPod Shuffle comes with very few accessories – all you get is a pair of earbud headphones, a lanyard, a USB cap, a few stickers and a small instructions guide. The headphones are decent, although I prefer the ones that I bought separately at Best Buy because they deliver a lot more treble and bass, and they also cancel out noise a bit. The Apple Store has quite a few accessories for the iPod Shuffle, yet as always, they are a bit overpriced. The only two accessories that I recommend are the USB Power Adapter ($29) and the Armband ($29) for joggers. The Power Adapter allows you to plug in your iPod for a quick recharge into any wall outlet. For anyone that is curious, a sports case, dock connector, battery pack, cassette adapter, in-ear headphones, iSplitter and FM transmitter are also available.
Overall, the iPod Shuffle is a very intriguing offer, especially at the entry price of just $99. But as always, you get what you pay for – and you end up paying for a device that holds 120 songs, doesn't have an LCD, doesn't have an AM/FM tuner, can't record anything and costs more than similar players from rival companies. Some key accessories are sold separately and at a steep price. Unless you want a companion for your workouts that is the pinnacle of sleekness, I'd stay away from this one. I'm confident that the 20 GB iPod would be a better choice for most people.
The iPod Shuffle is a very small device that stores and plays music files. When you pick up and hold one of these devices in your hand, you will be amazed at how small they are. They are about the same size as a portable USB flash memory drive and smaller than a pack of gum. With a ruler, I found it to be roughly 3.5 inches long, 1 inch wide and a third of an inch thick. The player also weighs less than an ounce, and it is very hard to even notice the weight when you place it in your pocket. All iPod Shuffle units come in only one color – white.
The button lay-out on this new iPod makes the player extremely easy to operate. The front of the unit has a wheel-like interface. The outer buttons on the wheel can be clicked to raise/lower the volume and to skip between tracks. The middle can be clicked to play or pause a song. The upper part of the unit features a headphone jack while the bottom of the unit has a USB connector than can be hidden with the provided USB cap. The backside of the iPod shuffle has the iPod logo, a battery indicator light and a slider. The slider is a revolutionary addition to the iPod family, as it has three different settings. The first setting is Off, the second turns the unit on and plays all songs in correct order, while the third setting shuffles your songs and plays them in random order.
By reading the paragraph above you probably noticed that the iPod Shuffle is missing something very important – a LCD screen. Without a LCD screen, you can't see what track is playing, how much time is left until the song ends and how many tracks you have on your iPod Shuffle. I am a big fan of LCD displays on MP3 players, so I feel that something is definitely missing whenever I operate the iPod Shuffle.
The iPod Shuffle that I have been using for the past few days is the 512 megabyte version that can store up to 120 songs. I was able to transfer 112 songs before it said that no more could be stored. Overall, there was nearly eight hours of music ready to be played. Honestly, 120 songs isn't that much and for those of you that want to listen to a large chunk of their music collection, you should opt for another player. I also realized that after a week, I have grown tired of the songs on my iPod Shuffle and I had to delete all of the songs and add on new ones. A one-gigabyte version of the iPod Shuffle that holds 240 songs also exits, and it costs $50 more than the version that I have. However, I don't think it is a solid investment.
The battery life of an MP3 player is always a crucial aspect. The iPod Shuffle was able to deliver slightly less than 12 hours of playing time after my initial charge. Considering the fact that the iPod Shuffle is meant to be used while exercising, the battery life is decent and I am do not feel that users should complain about it. Charging it is fairly simple – you just plug it into any available USB port in your PC and the iPod will begin to charge. It takes about four hours to recharge a completely depleted unit.
Transferring songs onto your iPod is incredibly simple. Each iPod comes with iTunes software (compatible with both Macintosh and Windows operating systems). You plug in your iPod exactly like you would when you are planning to recharge it, and when you install the software, you can begin transferring your songs right away. The iTunes software is extremely user-friendly and since iPods support basically all files (MP3, WAV, etc), you will have up to 120 songs from your music collection on your iPod in a matter of a few minutes. The transfer speeds are blazing fast. If you wish to, you can also create playlists and transfer those as well. The iTunes software is also affiliated with the iTunes Music Store, so you can legally download songs without having to look for an online service such as Napster.
The AutoFill function is something that is being marketed heavily in liaison with the iPod Shuffle. Back in the day, the only way to transfer songs onto your iPod would be to manually drag songs, albums or playlists. Now, you can have iTunes AutoFill your iPod Shuffle. You can have it AutoFill it with any songs (preference goes toward songs that are rated higher by you) or songs from certain playlists. This is a fairly good feature because I like to be occasionally surprised by a song that I haven't heard in months.
The sound quality on the iPod Shuffle is pretty good if you use a good pair of headphones, although the sound is not as crisp and the volume is not as loud as it is on the normal iPods because the iPod Shuffle is obviously less powerful. There are no factory-preset or custom equalizers, so you can't tweak the sound to your liking. Unless you have files that are corrupt in the first place, none of your music will be distorted.
The iPod Shuffle comes with very few accessories – all you get is a pair of earbud headphones, a lanyard, a USB cap, a few stickers and a small instructions guide. The headphones are decent, although I prefer the ones that I bought separately at Best Buy because they deliver a lot more treble and bass, and they also cancel out noise a bit. The Apple Store has quite a few accessories for the iPod Shuffle, yet as always, they are a bit overpriced. The only two accessories that I recommend are the USB Power Adapter ($29) and the Armband ($29) for joggers. The Power Adapter allows you to plug in your iPod for a quick recharge into any wall outlet. For anyone that is curious, a sports case, dock connector, battery pack, cassette adapter, in-ear headphones, iSplitter and FM transmitter are also available.
Overall, the iPod Shuffle is a very intriguing offer, especially at the entry price of just $99. But as always, you get what you pay for – and you end up paying for a device that holds 120 songs, doesn't have an LCD, doesn't have an AM/FM tuner, can't record anything and costs more than similar players from rival companies. Some key accessories are sold separately and at a steep price. Unless you want a companion for your workouts that is the pinnacle of sleekness, I'd stay away from this one. I'm confident that the 20 GB iPod would be a better choice for most people.
