[update: lots of places coming out with short extension cords with the buttons on them. Apple should have done this really :). Got my hands on one in the White City Apple Store. It feels like a normal shuffle, but about half the size. and 2-4x the capacity. Worth looking into if you need one, but I'll be sticking with my old one]
OK, so it’s nothing special, but I’ve had a softspot for the iPod Shuffle for a while. The first one I got was a 1GB “original” shuffle:
This was my first iPod experience (I’d had about 4 MP3 players before that), and I loved it. the size and weight were pefect, especially as I mostly used it at the gym.
From there I graduated to a 1st Gen Nano, then a 3rd Gen Nano (the “fat” one, still the best ipod I’ve ever had), a 80GB 5.5 iPod (now Classic, still got it) for keeping our collection with us when traveling, and now an iPhone 3G and a 2GB Shuffle for the gym.
I love the shuffle and it’s concept in general: I’m usually near my Mac, so syncing new music on it isn’t a problem. I tend to listen to music as a background thing, so random isn’t so bad, and it still plays from start to end anyway, so I can put an RPM class on as the first 9 tracks, and use it in order when I want to, or just run it on random if I’m just doing weights. For size, weight, battery life (24+ hours I think) and general usage, it’s hard to beat (keep in mind I use my iphone for everything else – work, tube, etc – but it’s too big to use at the gym, and too expensive to break or sweat on!!).
So, Apple have a new one. And to celebrate, I think we need the Fail Whale.
So, why fail the new Shuffle? First up, here’s the good things:
- It’s small. Actually, it’s smaller. The previous generation was small, so I guess this one is just bloody tiny!
- It’s 4GB. Thats a lot of music, and without playlists it would be impossible, however:
- … it has playlists. The single most requested* feature of the shuffle. (* ok, most likely the most bitched about feature, but ….)
- It talks to you, with track names, play list names etc. For a device which is out of the way a lot, thats very very cool. But thats gets me to the bad things. Well, thing. Singular.
Bad things:
- You have to – at the moment – use the Apple headphones to change tracks etc. It has a rocker-type control, like the iPhone does. It’s on the cord. There is very little you can do about that.
Now, this is a good way to control this kind of device, except for one thing:
Apple iPod headphones suck (and make you walking mugging target).
They leak like crazy, so you have to have it turned up more to hear it in places like the tube or a gym (40% vrs 80% for me). They don’t sit IN your ears, they sit ON your ears, and they hurt after an hour or so – well, they hurt me. The first thing I do with an iPod is use my own headphones (Sennheiser C300 or JBL 220′s). These are in-ear ones, which are black and fairly innocuous.
Even with no music on, both of these headphones block about 40% of the train noise, so I have to listen at a lower volume, hence saving my hearing. Of course, if I really wanted to save my hearing, I wouldn’t listen to dance music. But Idigress.
So there ya go. My 5 minute, I’ve-not-seen-it-in-person iPod Shuffle 3rd Gen review. If not for the headphones – or with some way to clip something on to do what the little button the cable does – I’d have to say it’s getting closer and closer to the perfect iPod for me. But the headphones thing is a deal breaker. Sorry.
Now, off to see if Apple still sell refurb’ed 3rd Gen Nanos, before Leonie’s breaks for good.
