Small MP3 player with big sound and bigger features

OVERVIEW
The iPod Shuffle is the smallest and least expensive of Apple's famous iPod line of MP3 players. Based upon a solid state "flash drive" which stores music on a chip instead of a micro hard drive, it is about the size of a pack of gum. My iPod Shuffle is the 512mb model (about 125 songs), and there is a 1gb model (about 250 songs) available.

The iPod Shuffle, like all iPods, plays ordinary MP3 files, AAC-encoded files, and songs purchased from Apple's iTunes music store, and treats them all the same. It does not play Windows' WMA format or proprietary encodings from Napster or Rhapsody.

Any pair of earbuds or headphones equipped with a standard 1/8" stereo jack can be used with the iPod Shuffle.

The iPod Shuffle is designed around the concept of a "playlist". Using iTunes (Apple's free music management software, available for both PCs and Macs), specific playlists can be downloaded, or you can let iTunes build a playlist for you based upon criteria you provide. The iTunes software knows how large your iPod's storage is, and builds its playlists to fit. Playback is either in the order of the playlist, or randomly shuffled; a flush slide-switch on the back selects Off-In Order-Random.

The iPod Shuffle is a USB device which plugs directly into a USB port or powered USB hub. This is how it recharges, and music is loaded onto the iPod Shuffle this way. You can also use the iPod Shuffle as an ordinary USB "flash drive" and transport files along with your music; I keep a copy of my résume handy this way.

THE OUTSTANDING - STYLE
Apple is known for its aesthetic designs which are sleek, minimalist, and extremely well-marketed. The iPod Shuffle embodies these qualities. A simple high-impact white case with slightly-rounded corners, and the signature white-corded ear bud headphones, preserve the design sensibilities the iPod family has built its identity upon. There is only a simple no-text grey Apple logo as decoration; nothing else clutters the case.

Style is a personal thing, but I appreciate the "no-bling" cleanliness of the design. Others may want more flash. Decide for yourself.

THE OUTSTANDING - USER INTERFACE
The iPod Shuffle has everything you need to quickly control its functions and nothing you don't need. In line with Apple's "keep it simple" philosophy, the only controls are a circular ring of four directional buttons surrounding a central button, the power/mode slider switch on the back, and a small "reset" switch also on the back.

There is no LCD display on the iPod Shuffle. In choosing to leave this out, Apple keeps the price and power needs down. They also studied how people actually use their MP3 players, and found that a random-playback mode (the "shuffle" thing) was extremely commmon. This is the "mission profile" they designed the iPod Shuffle around. Given that Apple has products elsewhere in its iPod line with full displays and many more bells-and-whistles, it was not necessary for the iPod Shuffle to be all things to all people.

The controls have a good, positive feel to them, responding to a deliberate touch yet not easily accidentally activated as the iPod Shuffle shifts around in a pocket. Operation is completely intuitive: volume up-down are the up-down buttons, skip forward and back are the left-right buttons (press and hold to move within a song; click to move to a different song), and pause/play/soft-power-off are the center button (click and hold for soft-power-on and soft-power-off). It all fits under your thumb, and you never have to look at your hand while operating the iPod Shuffle. Very handy while jogging or bike riding.

THE OUTSTANDING - SOUND
The iPod Shuffle, as the newest iPod, has the newest sound-decoding chips in Apple's iPod line, and many believe it has the best sound quality. I tend to agree. Comparing to my roommate's third-generation "regular" iPod, the stereo imaging is better, the highs cleaner, and the deep bass more full-bodied. This is not to say the other iPods sound bad, but you do notice a difference as you go back and forth between the two using the same headphones.

Speaking of headphones. You don't have to use earbuds; I successfully use my Sennheiser HD-570 headphones with the iPod Shuffle. It's almost comical; these full-sized headphones completely dwarf the iPod. I have to turn up the volume a little more to drive the Sennheisers, but there is no distortion at all, and I can play music at the volume I like. This uses a bit more battery power, obviously, which brings us to...

THE OUTSTANDING - BATTERY LIFE
The iPod Shuffle has a built-in lithium battery that recharges when you plug it in to a USB port or hub. Apple was criticized for problems with battery life in some of their previous iPods, but there is no sign of trouble here.

With the ear buds, I get almost 16 hours of playback before exhausting the battery. With my full-sized Sennheisers mentioned above, I get 10 hours. And recharging is quick; 2 hours for an 80% recharge, 4 for a full charge. I've put my iPod through nearly a hundred charge-cycles, and the battery life shows no signs of lessening or "memory effect" from partial charges.

Note that people who play their music at very high volumes will get less battery life than someone who plays their music at lower volume levels. As noted above, different headphones also take differing amounts of power to get a given sound level. Your mileage may vary.

THE GOOD - FLASH DRIVE FUNCTIONALITY
The iPod Shuffle has the ability to act as a "keyring" flash drive. A keyring drive is a USB device that you plug into a USB port, and it appears to your computer to be a very small hard drive (or very large floppy drive, depending upon your viewpoint). These keyring drives are used to keep important files handy.

The iPod Shuffle can be configured to act as a keyring drive. You have to use iTunes to set aside a certain amount of space for this ("partitioning"), and the space you set aside cannot be used for music files. Fortunately, you can change the size of the keyring drive any time you want, but you do have to go through iTunes to do it. Unfortunately, every time you change the size of the keyring drive, it erases what's on the iPod.

This is great functionality to have, but there is room for improvement. It is certainly possible to resize the keyring drive on the fly; it just takes more development time. I'm sure this will happen in future updates of the iPod software. Given that it's very simple to update your iPod's software, this is just fine. There's nothing wrong with the way it works now, I just want a bit more flexibility here.

THE GOOD - DURABILITY
This is one rugged little player. Since it has no internal moving parts, no tiny little hard drive inside, there is not a whole lot that can break. The buttons are built to last, the case is very tough. You can't kill it with anything short of a hammer or a salt-water aquarium tank (long story).

The one weak spot, though, is the snap-on cap that fits over the USB connector. The cap does not fit as tightly as it might, and this is especially true of aftermarket parts. The cap is something you'll likely lose sooner or later. It's easily replaced, it's just not as tight as it could be.

THE NOT-SO-GOOD - EAR BUD COMFORT
Let me point out that this is about as personal an issue as it gets. How well the included Apple earbuds fit depends absolutely on your ears, and subtle differences from person to person will be the difference between perfect fit and discomfort.

Unfortunately, I'm in the latter category, and I'm not alone. The included ear buds don't fit me well, and tend to fall out. Also, poorly-fitting ear buds don't sound as good as they could. I prefer the style that goes fully into the ear canal. There are some outstanding in-the-ear earbuds available for people like me (and, in fact, Apple offers a pair). My roommate's ears are apparently just different enough, as he has no trouble with fit or discomfort.

Again, I don't want to put down the included Apple ear buds; many people love them. Simply be aware that you might need to buy different ear buds or headphones to get the most out of your iPod Shuffle. There is quite a market in premium ear buds now, thanks entirely to the existance of the iPod. It is, of course, an additional expense... or a gift idea for your iPod-owning friends.

SUMMARY
This is an outstanding product. While not as revolutionary as the original iPod (which changed personal stereos forever), this is nonetheless "best of breed". No other solid-state MP3 player comes close to the iPod Shuffle for sound quality, build quality, and ease-of-use. The ability to use it as a keyring flash drive is icing on the cake, and if you want you can either view the iPod Shuffle as an MP3 player with a free keyring drive, or as a keyring drive with a free MP3 player.

Some might say that without a display, it's not a "real" iPod. That's fine; if you want a display, buy a "regular" iPod or iPod Mini. That's what's nice about having a full product line. Whether it's a "real" iPod or not, the Shuffle delivers exactly what it says: MP3 playback with great sound in a tiny, well-built easy-to-use package. Sounds like an iPod to me...

Now if Apple offered one with a screen and a larger flash drive... oh, wait, there's this new "iPod Nano" they just announced. No fair reading my mind, Apple!