Customer Reviews

Apple iPod shuffle 1 GB Blue (2nd Generation) OLD MODEL

5 star:		(56)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Apple's iPod Shuffle is a compact MP3 player that's great for working out, running or just plain music listening on the go. The new lower price as of January 2008 makes the relatively high cost of the device a little more bearable. Great as a gift, extra player, or exercise companion.

Pros
- Newly lowered price!!!!
- Compact and functional design
- Nicely integrated clip - No case needed!
- Great family of Apple accessories
- Great for those already used to iTunes
- Included in-ear headphones are great for a starter pair
- Lots of great color options (silver, green, purple, blue)
- Highly durable player
- Apple brand and reputation

Cons
- Still a premium price compared to competing players (total $ and $ per gigabyte)
- Competing products offer more features, including fm radio and voice recording
- No screen to view track names
- Difficult to control / select tracks via playlists
- Proprietary dock / jack for syncing
- Small capacity (1GB) with no expandability
- Limited native file format support in iTunes (MP3, AAC), though you can easily convert
- No drag and drop music control
- Non iTunes fans are still forced to deal with software limitations

The Form Factor

Size has always been the iPod shuffle's greatest asset. The integrated clip is no doubt its second greatest asset. This unit works fine with no extra case, though there are still options. The composite case comes in one of several popular color options, including the silver, blue, green and purple. And of course, the unit's durability is great, probably because of the simple design.

Apple chose to use a proprietary headphone jack for syncing, which most competing players accomplish with a standard USB B port. Overall, still a great design.

Durability

Apple deserves points for the more durable player in this group. Even with the composite body, these guys do hold up to a lot of abuse. Creative's failure rates are too high, but Sandisk's Clip is gaining ground in this area.

Capacity

The 1GB size for the shuffle was the only option from Apple for a long time. The market has been flooded with 2GB players from the competition. In addition to lowering the price in February 2008, Apple finally added a 2GB option available now at Apple stores. Apple iPod shuffle 2 GB Silver (2nd Generation) Still, as Apple finally ups their size, Sansa now has their Clip in a 4GB size. SanDisk Sansa Clip 4 GB MP3 Player (Silver)

Creative Zen Stone Plus 2GB MP3 Player
SanDisk Sansa c150 2 GB MP3 Player (Black)
SanDisk Sansa Express 2 GB MP3 Player (Black)
SanDisk SDMX7-2048 Sansa c250 2 GB MP3 Player
SanDisk Sansa Clip 2 GB MP3 Player (Black)

Features and Software

Competing players over simple screens for track viewing as well as FM radio and voice recording. The Zen Stone Plus by Creative and the Sandisk Clip each offer all three features at better price points. Apple's reliability and brand loyalty has allowed the shuffle to survive with limited features.

Competing players also offer drag and drop syncing using standard USB cables or, in the case of the Sansa Express, via direct USB. Apple still requires the proprietary dock.

For a 1GB MP3 player it seems excessive to have to use iTunes software to sync your software. Competing players have even worse software, but allow you to drag and drop files on these devices like USB thumb drives.

iTunes is both a curse and a blessing, depending on your point of view. For those who are used to iTunes or totally new to MP3s, the interface can be a great plus. For anybody who want more direct control over their music collection, some of the features within iTunes can become burdensome.

Once again, if you LOVE Apple and iTunes, or if you are totally new to MP3s the software will still be a net plus for you.

For those that care about file options, Apple's software allows only MP3 and AAC. You can easily convert other formats to these, but be aware of the limits. This is only a negative for those really loyal to a certain file format, such as the growing group of WMA users. Having to have 2 format copies of all your music can really hurt as your collection grows.

Sound

The sound this unit produces is pretty good though not great. While I still feel the first generation shuffle sounded much better, the tradeoff was worth the smaller size.

Cost

The shuffle's price has finally come down to about $50 for 1GB or $65 for 2GB. While not a bargain, this price makes the sting much less painful for Apple loyalists. On a dollar per gigabyte and absolute dollar cost, Apple continues to charge a premium for their brand.

1GB of flash memory is going for under $10 retail, one fifth the lowered cost of the shuffle. In addition, competing players like the Sansa Clip continue to offer more features at a better prices. If you want a small player and you are open to brands beyond Apple, your options continue to expand. In addition to the Creative Stone and the Sansa Clip, new models from Samsung and Sony have added even more options.

Once again, Apple's reputation is well deserved. This model requires you to pay a premium for it, though a slightly shrinking premium. :-D

Conclusion

If you must have Apple and need a small player for high impact workouts, choose this or one of the new 2GB shuffles. If you want to stay with Apple and can afford it, stepping up to the Apple iPod nano 4GB will cost you $140 but gives you 4 times the capacity and video. Still, if you're not an Apple die-hard, the Sansa Clip and other options deserve consideration.

Research your options and choose the player that's right for you. Overall this is a good player at an improved price.

Enjoy!!!

I purchased this iPod shuffle for a young lady of 10. This player really works well for her. She doesn't care about selecting specific songs and has no need to sort by artist or genre. She likes how easy it is to dump songs onto this player, even without the use of iTunes. The Shuffle is really small and has an integrated clip, so it is easy to transport. The sound quality is awesome, for such a small device, and it plays for hours and hours on a battery charge. I think the iPod Shuffle is an item that will only please a certain range of people. After all, there is no display so you cannot select the songs or artists that you wish to listen to in any given order. The player does just what the name implies. It "Shuffles" your music in random order. You still have the basic controls at your fingertips, including track skip forward and backward, play, pause, and volume up and down. It also has a handy hold switch so that you don't accidentally turn the player on or change tracks when you don't want to. I purchased this 3rd gen iPod Shuffle from Amazon for the amazing price of $69.99! It is now back up around $75, so I feel lucky to have purchased it when I did. If you are looking for a very small and easy to use MP3 player, which simply shuffles your music and has a high quality look and feel, then look no further than the Apple iPod Shuffle. It really is an amazing player. =o)

UPDATE - 1/23/2008:
This iPod Shuffle ended up taking a trip through the washing machine and was then subjected to the brutal pouding and scorching heat of a clothes dryer! Obviously we were just sick about what we had done, and we were sure that this Christmas gift had met an early death. We allowed the Shuffle to sit out for 4 days, without trying to power it on, in order to make sure that it was completely dry on the inside. Much to our amazement this 3rd Gen iPod Shuffle powered up and works flawlessly! It charges, plays all of the onboard music files, and connects to the computer without any problems. All of the buttons and switches work just fine as well. We are SO relieved, and can't say enough about the build quality and durability of this product. We will now be more careful about checking every pocket before laundering our clothes in the future. Whew...thanks Apple!

Great little product that you can tuck into any pocket. It holds enough music for me to listen to. I just wish it included the accessory to hook up to my car too, but for the price, I'm not expecting much. It works for me!

I had one of the older 1st generation iPod shuffles and upgraded to this latest model 2 mos ago. I primarily use it for running and working out. The small size is perfect -- I love how it just clips to your clothes rather than requiring an armband or lanyard. Also, I have not had the same issue with this iPod shuffle as I did with my old one in that it frequently had issues with its shuffle algorithm (to the point where I could tell it was merely going in the order of the artist's first name alphabetically or it would play the same block of songs over and over). I have really been pleased with mine so far after 2 months and the price is reasonable given all the use I get out of my iPod shuffle.

I hate to admit, but I have bought at least five of these, all only lasting a month or less. They are a great idea, but don't hold up if you are going to use for exercising and/or plan on sweating.

This was a gift for my wife, that couldn't wait till Christmas. She's used my ipod and the kids as well, but when I asked if she wanted one it was always "I'd never use it! don't waste the money on me (etc, etc, ad nausium).

Once she had it in her hand, we hear a single repeat of the standard spiel. From that point forward, we have to tap her on the shoulder to get her attention when she's in the kitchen, or doing housework, or playing in her flowers, or reading a book and sometimes when we're watching a movie.

For someone who JUST didn't need or want one, this has been the greatest Gift Hit the kids and I have ever scored.

At to the ipod itself, it's simplicity to load and maintain, the battery holds a more than adequate charge and even Sylvia, the Non Computer Literate Nurse can load her selection, both automatically and manually via iTunes on her mac. This woman knows how everything inside your guts works (nurse) but she's lost with "mechanical" devices, but THIS one is intuitive and she simply loves the thing.

I should have gotten one for her when the kids and I got ours (equally utilized). I can't say how pleased I am with her reception of the little music player!

This is the third MP3 player I have owned. I had a 128MB Nike/Phillips for about 3.5 years before it finally kicked the bucket. I replaced that with a 8GB Creative Zen Microphoto. The ZMP was nice but I really wanted something that would be better for running/lifting/biking.

I was deciding between this and the Creative Zen Stone which was slighly cheaper at the time. I ended up going with the ipod because of the metal casing and the built in clip. I have really enjoyed the purchase and would definately buy another one if this ever broke.

PROS:
- Size: it is small enough that it doesn't take up much room and you definately don't notice the weight at all. At the same time, it is big enough that the buttons are easy to find without having to lookdown or "search around" with your fingers.
- Clip: I had armbands for both my Nike ZMP players which I wasn't to wild about. Armbands arn't bad if you are running or biking, but they can be a annoying when you are doing upper body lifts. The clip eliminates this problem.
- Memory: I find 1GB to be the perfect size. You can fit 200-250 songs which keep me entertained for a couple battery lives before I feel like switching them and giving myself something else to listen to.
- Build: The metal case is very nice looking and quite strong as well. I have dropped this sucker more than I would like to admit and it has never been a problem. Heck, I even dropped it into a sink full of water and it still works perfectly.

CONS:
- Shuffle. I don't know if it just me but it seems like I will hear some songs about 4 or 5 times before I hear some other ones. Not a big deal at all, don't let it discourage you from purchasing this, but if it were more balanced I would be even happier.

My teenagers are both avid runners. They both already had bigger iPods but wanted something smaller and more convenient for running. They specifically requested the iPod Shuffle for Christmas because of it's size and the built-in clip. They both really like the iPod Shuffle and use it everytime they run.

I got this because I got sick of carrying my big iPod around when I go running, and it has been the best thing ever. Its tiny, and clips right on to my shirt or shorts, and it looks cool too!

Performs as advertised. Small, compact, price is right.
Although there is not a menu available; if you only place songs on the shuffle that you want to listen to, then any song that plays is one that you will want to listen to.
Pretty amazing stuff compared to the "Walkman" of old.