New Apple iPod Shuffle 1 GB MP3 Player - Cooler and Better Than Old Model?

I have owned several models of iPod Nano, but also have used both Shuffles of the previous generation: the 512-Megabyte Apple iPod Shuffle and the 1-Gb version. And now is the time to check out the new, cheap and more compact yet capacious Apple iPod Shuffle 1GB.

What is the new iPod Shuffle?

The iPod Shuffle is a miniature MP3 player with 1-Gygabyte capacity that has no screen of any kind and stores songs in the MP3, AAC, protected AAC (from iTunes store or compressed with iTunes) or WAV format in the internal flash memory.

The Shuffle is inexpensive, compact, stylish and easy to use.

What's in the Box?

The box contains the iPod Shuffle, the docking station, small headphones (earbuds) and the quick start guide.

Manuals

Since the player is fairly easy to use, there is no need to read an extensive manual.

iPod Shuffle Controls

The new iPod Shuffle has compact rectangular shape (smaller than the original) with rounded corners. It is compact and lightweight without feeling cheap. There is a clip you can use to attach it to you apparel. 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 that shines through the plastic in red, orange or green color for the battery status. Red means empty, orange means low and green means full.

The player has a Hold mode where 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. When held, they fast forward or backward within the song. The top panel of the player (top is relative) has a standard 3.5mm headphone jack, which also serves as a dock connector. You charge the Shuffle and sync it with iTunes software through this connector while it is upside-down on the dock.

The bottom part is a shuffle switch and on/off switch. The switches are metallic in color and are stylish. They are alos easier to slide than the switch of the previous model.

Software Installation

You have to download the iTunes software from the Apple web site. The supplied USB docking station is easy to attach and, once you attach it and install the software, you are ready to load the tunes, while charging the iPod in the meantime.

Connectivity

You no longer have to plug the Shuffle directly into the computer’s USB port or deal with a USB cap. The dock has a prong that fits into the 3.5-mm headphone/docking jack on the top (bottom when docked) of the player.

I like this arrangement. It is easy to use and also looks nice.

Battery and Charging

The iPod Shuffle has an internal battery that recharges while the iPod is connected to the dock. You can also get an Apple power adaptor if you want to charge the Shuffle without a computer.

The full charging supposedly takes four hours. It seemed that the Shuffle comes charged since it was only charging for several minutes before the battery got full, according to the battery LED.

You can (according to Apple) have up to 12 hours of continuous playback time on one charge. In my tests, the battery lasted over 9 hours already.

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 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 as well.

With large enclosed headphones connected, 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, but you can do much better with aftermarket headphones for not much money. I used Koss KSC75 and it was a major improvement over stock earbuds. Overall, I am pleased with the sound 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). The supplied headphones are decent enough to require no equalization.

Skip Protection

The iPod Shuffle needs no skip protection as it has no mechanical parts and will not skip. This is one of the advantages of the flash-based (as opposed to CD) players, along with fast access and low power consumption.

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 shuffle switch position.

Capacity

The 1 GB capacity is sufficient for using the Shuffle at the gym. I would not want larger capacity with no screen to see or select songs.

Summary

It is amazing how good the new Shuffle is. Not much larger than a quarter, it is much smaller and lighter than its predecessor and has stylish aluminum case. It is stylish, compact, inexpensive, does not skip, provides good sound quality and battery life, needs no charger, has useful hold functionality, comes with good software and is easy to use.

I like the dock it comes with as well. It is not a replacement for a full-featured MP3 player as it still cannot hold your entire music library 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.

With right expectations, I can recommend the iPod Shuffle 1 GB. You will not be able to store your entire music library on it or find a song you want quickly, but for random or semi-random playback, it is a good choice.