The
Apple iPod Shuffle is a small MP3 player that has no screen of
any kind and stores songs in the MP3, AAC, protected AAC (from iTunes store) or
WAV format in the internal flash memory.
The iPod Shuffle is available in 512-MB and 1-GB flavors. The
review of iPod Shuffle 1-GB is available here.
You can see pictures of the iPod Shuffle's front and back panels that I took if
you click on the link below the picture
Click here to see more pictures of Apple iPod Shuffle
The player is compact, stylish and easy to use. I will go over its controls and
usage below.
What's in the Box?
The little green box contains the iPod Shuffle, the small headphones (earbuds),
lanyard (all in white color). It also contains the CD with software (iTunes),
the black pads that you can put over the earbuds, the small card with
instructions on iPod Shuffle's operation and the manual.
Manuals
I found the small card with instructions sufficient to operate the iPod Shuffle
with no need to read the actual manual. The card describes how you can switch
the Shuffle off, on and into the "Shuffle" mode, how to change volume, play,
pause, skip, check battery status as well as how to engage and disengage the
"hold" mode.
The larger manual describes installation of the software, the battery charging
and more.
iPod Shuffle Controls
The iPod Shuffle has compact rectangular shape and is made of white plastic. It
is compact and lightweight without feeling cheap. The front panel houses a
circular control cluster with Play/Pause button in the middle, + and
- volume control buttons up and down of it, Skip Back and Skip
Forward on left and right.
There is a LED above the controls that shines through the plastic in orange or
green color. The blinking green light means the player is in the pause mode.
The orange light when you press a button means the player is in the Hold
mode and the buttons cannot be operated until it is unlocked.
The player is locked or unlocked by pressing and holding the Play/Pause button
for three seconds.
The Skip Forward and Skip Back buttons skip to the next or
previous song (I will complain about some of this functionality later). When
held, they fast forward or backward within the song. Again, I will express my
complaints below.
The top panel of the player has a standard 3.5mm headphone jack. The bottom
part is a USB jack cap. It can be removed to revel the USB jack.
The rear panel houses the main mode (slider-type) switch with Off, On
and Shuffle modes. It is stylish, but could have been more functional.
Details will follow.
Below it, there is a battery check button with a small LED in it. When pushed,
it makes the LED light up indicating the battery status (green light means
good, orange means low charge, red means very low charge, no light means... you
guessed it - no charge at all).
Software Installation
The software is compatible with Mac OS X v10.2.8 or later or Windows 2000 SP4
or XP SP2.
The CD with software auto-starts when inserted into the CD-ROM (or in my case,
DVD-ROM) drive. The manual states that you have to install the software before
connecting the iPod. I connected the iPod first anyway. It registered on my
Windows 2000 machine as a removable USB device with no files on it. I didn't
risk to experiment with direct file copying.
After I removed the iPod, put the CD in the drive and installed the iTunes
software (it took a couple of minutes), I was ready to connect the iPod and
start loading tunes. The reboot was required after the software installation
and I had to register with Apple and enter the iPod's serial number (found on
the iPod itself as well as on the outer carton box).
During the software installation, I was prompter to attach the iPod to the
computer's USB port to see if formatting is needed. It wasn't needed.
Connectivity
The iPod has a removable USB cap. With it attached, it has rectangular shape.
Without it, it has a shorter rectangular shape with a USB plug at the bottom
end (similar to the USB storage devices, a.k.a. USB drives).
You plug the iPod directly into your computer's USB port. It the access to the
USB port is obstructed, you can get a cable from Apple (and from other
vendors/manufacturers).
Battery and Charging
The iPod Shuffle has an internal battery that recharges while the iPod is
connected to the powered USB port. When I connected to my computer, the light
on the back panel started blinking indicating that the iPod is charging.
You can also get an Apple power adaptor if you want to charge the Shuffle
without a computer. You can also get a cheaper USB charger designed for other
devices (PDAs) from other manufacturers.
The full charging supposedly takes four hours. It seemed that the Shuffle we
got was charged since it was only charging for several minutes before the
batter got full.
You can (according to Apple) have up to 12 hours of continuous playback time on
one charge. I have not validated this claim to its entirety, but it definitely
lasts more than 10 hours.
Accessories
The Shuffle has a bunch of accessories designed for it. The carrying cases are
available, but were not yet available at the Apple store we went to. The USB
chargers, docking stations and USB extenders are all quite overpriced
(armbands, chargers and cases are about $30 each), so you might want to check
out "aftermarket" accessories.
Music Transfer
You can select an option in the iTunes software that makes the iTunes
automatically start once the iPod is connected. The iTunes software looks cute
and easy to use. The iPod appears as one of the folders in the left pane of
iTunes and you can drag and drop the songs you want from the "Library" folder
that represents your music library.
As soon as you drag the songs, the iPod icon/folder turns red and the status
bar appear in the top portion indicating that the songs are being copied to
iPod (including the progress indicator). The message is also telling you that
you cannot disconnect the iPod at this stage (for obvious reasons).
The light on the iPod is blinking while data is written. That is another
indication that you should not disconnect the iPod at this stage. Once the data
is written, the light stops blinking and you can see a message in iTunes that
says you can disconnect the iPod.
I have discovered that unfortunately, you cannot drag the MP3 files directly
from Windows Explorer into the iPod folder. You have to drag them into your
music library in iTunes first and only then you can drag them into iPod folder.
Worse, if you delete songs from your music library while the iPod is connected,
they are getting deleted from the iPod as well.
And what if you have iTunes installed on two computers (e.g. at home and at
work) and you copy some songs to your iPod on one computer and then connect it
to another one, where these songs are not in the Library? I am glad you asked.
These songs will magically disappear from the iPod! That is annoying!
You can also have iTunes "Autofill" the Shuffle every time it is connected with
either random songs or with songs based on your selected playlists.
The iPod supports USB 2.0 (as well as USB 1.1) and files are copied relatively
fast. The iPod version we have is 512Mb and that defines how much music it can
fit. Depending on song length and the bit rate, you can fit anywhere from 120
songs (Apple claim, probably at 128 kbps bit rate) to 50 songs (if you want
better sound quality and use, say 256 kbps VBR).
Not all of 512 Mb will be used for music. Some amount of memory seems to be
allocated for other functions. Still, you can fit about 100-110 songs at 128
kbps.
The Shuffle supports Variable Bit Rate (VBR) for better sound quality at the
same bit rate as CBR (Constant Bit Rate). It also supports AAC, protected AAC
and WAV.
Sound Quality
The sound quality is very important to me. The iPod Shuffle did not disappoint
me. It is difficult to expect much from the compact device that is so cheap,
comes with small earbuds and is used with MP3. But even with the supplied
earbuds, the music sounded good. The earbuds definitely lacked bass and sounded
"bright" overall with slight metallic treble, but the imaging was good, the
clarity was very good too.
I connected my large headphones to the Shuffle to test the sound quality of the
iPod itself. The bass appeared along with warmer, more natural sound. The MP3
decoding quality was good and approached CD quality at higher bit rates,
although at 128 kbps there was slight lack of treble. But that was expected
because of the low bit rate and no player would be able to do much better.
The supplied earbuds look stylish and match the iPod in color (white), but
putting the supplied black felt pads on them was a pain. Overall, I am pleased
with the Shuffle's sound, especially paired with better headphones than the
ones supplied.
The Shuffle has no equalizer, but it is not a problem for since the MP3s I have
are usually of good quality (ripped from CDs or downloaded from a paid web
site).
Skip Protection
The iPod Shuffle needs no skip protection as it has no mechanical parts and
will not skip.
No LCD
The Shuffle has no display of any kind, but I found this to be of no concern.
The songs can be played sequentially or in random order (Shuffle), based on the
main switch position. The main switch on the back panel has flat upper surface,
which makes sliding it difficult if your hands are even slightly wet.
The blinking lights work well and the small capacity of the shuffle makes lack
of LCD almost mute point.
Control Annoyances
In addition to the stylish, but less than functional main switch, there slight
annoyances with the main controls. The skip forward or backward involves a
pause that lasts at least a second. The fast forwarding or reversing within a
song (by holding the appropriate button) is very choppy with silences in
between music. Nothing major, but there is room for improvement.
Summary
I like the iPod Shuffle overall. It is stylish, compact, inexpensive, does not
skip, provides good sound quality and battery life, needs no charger, has
"Hold" functionality, comes with good software and is easy to use.
There are things I dislike. The iTunes software deletes the songs from the
Shuffle if it is connected when you delete the same songs from the iTunes
library, the main mode switch is flat, the skip to next or previous song is
slow and cue/review is choppy.
The Shuffle's capacity is small and there is no screen, but it corresponds to
the Shuffle's purpose: compact, inexpensive music player on the go that is easy
to use. The lack of screen is a mute point since you cannot store much in
Shuffle's flash memory.
The cons are small and the pros are in the important areas of performance. I
highly recommend the
iPod Shuffle. Just don't expect too much.
Recommended
Yes
Product Rating
(above average)
This review is also available at Epinions.com: Apple iPod Shuffle 512 MB MP3 Player Review on Epinions.com