Introducing baby iPod (Apple iPod shuffle (2G) 1 GB)

Member Name: hypno06

Product:	Apple iPod shuffle (2G) 1 GB
Date:	18/03/09 (165 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Neat, discrete, affordable and easy to use.

Disadvantages: No display.

iPod has become the name that many of us will now associate with "music on the move" in the same way as the Walkman did in the 1980s......whilst there are many many mp3 players on the market, suiting a range of budgets and requirements, it is "iPod" that has become the most recognisable brand.

The iPod shuffle is the smallest of the iPod family, is the most basic, and is also the cheapest - and for all of those reasons I think it is fab!

I have owned an iPod nano for 3 years, and I love it - but when I go out for a run, my Nano is not so practical - I have tried wearing it in an armband, but find reaching round to change track/volume difficult, and if I run along holding on to it, I worry about either dropping it, or being mugged for it.

The Shuffle takes all that away from me. I can fit 240 (ish) songs from my iTunes library on my 1GB shuffle, which is more than enough to see me through even my longest Marathon training run without having to listen to the same track twice. When I fancy a change, I simply plug it into my USB port on my laptop and change the songs that I download, which just takes a few minutes, so I need never get bored.

The Shuffle itself is very small - not much more than an inch by an inch and a half and has a sturdy full width clip on the back, which you use to attach to your pocket, lapel, waistband or wherever you want! This means I can easily attach it to my running top, or to the waistband of my running trousers where it is discrete, comfortable, and easily accessible to me when I want to change volume or skip a track. Because it is well made, I have never had a problem with it working loose as I am running, so it really is secure - or is that more due to the fact I don't run very fast?!

The front of the ipod is as you see in the picture above - there is no display so you cannot see what track you are listening to, and you cannot scroll through looking for favourite tracks - if you want to do that, then the Nano is something you should look at. The shuffle does, however, allow you to move forward and back to skip or repeat tracks at the touch of the "dial" and volume control is simple too.

On the side of the shuffle is the on/off switch and a switch to allow you to shuffle your tracks, or to listen to them "in order". I like the randomness of shuffle - you never know what you are going to get next out of your 240 faves!

Charging is easy - the shuffle comes with a charging dock that plugs into the USB port on your PC. It takes about half an hour, in my experience, to fully charge my shuffle, and this gives plenty of charge - I have never run out of battery while on my long runs, (my own energy levels are flagging long before my iPod energy flags!).

Sound quality is excellent - I really cannot fault it.

The cost of the iPod shuffle has come down considerably over the last year or so, as happens with gadgets, and you can now pick up a shuffle for less than £30 quite easily - ideal for birthday and Christmas presents, not so expensive that the kids can't save up their pocket money for it, and, importantly for me, I don't worry about it getting lost/damaged/nicked in the same way as I did about my precious Nano - although I hope to keep my shuffle safe, I am a little more relaxed about it as it is more affordable should it need to be replaced. They come in a very wide range of colours so there is something for everyone, although some colours are more difficult to get hold of than others.

So, all in all, whilst the iPod shuffle is not "King of the iPods", it is an excellent entry level iPod, neat, compact and practical, and great for either a first iPod or as an addition to your iPod family for when you are pounding the pavements, or wanting something a little more discrete.

I give this product 4 stars - it does exactly what it needs to do, but I do miss having a display on the front, and for that reason it gets a star knocked off.

Summary: A great addition to the iPod family

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