The smallest of the I-pod range

My iPod classic was too big for the gym and costing in excess of £200 I was a bit worried that I might damage it. I needed an MP3 player that was small, lightweight, cheap but good quality and durable that I could use for the gym.

Since my gym sessions only last for around an hour a time the memory size is not such a big issue. I didn’t need something that could hold thousands of songs since I just had no need for it.

I considered an iPod shuffle but at £79 I considered it too expensive, despite knowing that it would be excellent quality, like all of the iPod range. It was during the same week I saw that the new shuffle was being released and with a price tag of £55 it could be what I was looking for.

At this time other manufacturers were producing MP3 players with the same memory and a display screen (something the shuffle has not got but then I would have no use for it anyway) and for a cheaper price but buying cheap is not always the way to go as I have found it to be false economy in the past as the product had needed replacing quickly.

****iPod Shuffle 2nd generation****

The new Shuffle was (at that time) the smallest MP3 player in the world measuring 27.3 x 41.2 x 10.5mm and a lightweight 15.5 grams. This size does come at the expense of a screen and an FM radio, 2 features other MP3 players had.

The shuffle holds around 240 tracks either downloaded from iTunes or ripped from CD into either ACC or MP3 format at a good quality bit rate. The fact that the shuffle holds 240 songs is a bit excessive for my specific requirements but it is good to know I have the ability to have enough songs for long journeys and the like.

The controls are very simple and include play, skip and pause control that is best used as the iPod name suggests in Shuffle mode.

There is a little switch on the edge that controls the playback mode (either random or in order) and after powering on and selecting a mode the only other actions are to change the volume or to skip forwards or back a track.

Whilst the limited controls may cause an issue for some people this does not bother me since all I do is turn it on, exercise and turn it off again. I do not ‘play’ with it at all whilst exercising, so the simpler the better.

The new shuffle has a built in belt clip making it ideal for the gym. This can be clipped to any item of clothing and it is secure held with no jumping about or risk of falling off, facilitated by the tiny dimensions of the shuffle.

Battery life on the shuffle is 12 hours, although I have had longer usage out of a single charge. Charging is done via an iPod shuffle dock. Checking the battery has become a bit of a pain, the small indicator lights (one each side) flash when the unit is powered up, green for good, amber for ok, red for low and white for empty.

Unlike the original shuffle the 2nd generation shuffle doe not come with the ability to allow you to plug the shuffle in to any old USB port, unless you buy an additional USB docking station. This costs around £6 (excluding P&P) from easyishop.co.uk. The dock is also needed to top up and transfer tracks. So if you lose this then you’re stuffed and have to purchase a replacement, whilst although not that expensive (they can be bought for a couple of pounds from Ebay) it is a pain.

****Sound****

The sound quality is not great compared to other iPods and there is some distortion at louder volumes. I also found that there was a lot of background noise with the earphones supplied. I assumed the earphones were the problem and replaced them with better quality ones and whilst I managed to eliminate the background noise there was still the distortion. I have since tried other earphones and cannot eradicate this.

I do not find the sound quality an issue because I only use it for the gym and use my other iPod for other every day applications.

****Price and availability****

I actually pre-ordered mine and paid £55 for it from the Apple store. I even had a free engraving that I thought is a nice touch.
I have had a recent look on Amazon and found a brand new one in silver for £27.99 which is a massive saving on what I paid, but that was a couple of years ago now and time and technology has moved on. At £27.99 they are an absolute bargain.

****Accessories****

Compared to other iPod models, the range of accessories is very limited and includes the docking stations, small cases, chargers and headphones and an arm band holder (why this is required I will never know since it has the clip which is used to attach the iPod to the user and this is perfectly strong enough).

There are many places that stock accessories and an internet search should have the products you’re after at the best prices. By best price I mean the overall package, including P&P costs, speed of delivery, after sales service and reputation of the retailer and not just the actual price of the shuffle itself.

****Would I recommend one?****

For a second MP3 player or one that is going to be used for the gym, for gardening or some other activity where a plug and play solution is ok then I would recommend one. The belt clip is a great idea and negates the need for a separate armband and the like and it is really well made and good quality that is to be expected from Apple.

The sound quality is not great compared to other iPods but then what can you expect for under £30? Changing the earphones will get rid of the background noise but I can’t find a set that will get rid of the distortion at high volumes. It’s a good job that I now respect my ears and don’t listen at eardrum busting volumes.


 (Originally posted on Dooyoo under the name of Yackers1)