Apple iPod Shuffle 512: My New Best Friend

Rappers have written love songs for their guns, heroin, and other non-human things. So I decided that I'd write one too. Here we go.

We haven't shuffled for awhile
But when we reconnect through the 'phones, you always make me smile

Ok, I'm kidding here. I will not subject you all to a corny rhyme about my iPod Shuffle. But I do love it. It has become my go to entertainment when I work out. Usually I can watch television while I ride the exercise bike, but with the Shuffle, I can use it while lifting, hitting the heavy bag and speed bag, and of course, while running. The key to being able to use the Shuffle while working out is it's size which is about the size of a pack of gum, and the way you wear it. It comes with a lanyard that you wear around your neck and to me, that's much better than using it with an arm band. Using an arm band to me is almost like not taking advantage of the Shuffle's size. What I would suggest is that you also get the sports case with your Shuffle because you probably would want to wear it under your shirt and the sports case would protect it from sweat.

Part of the reason why any iPod product is successful is because of how it works with the iTunes software. The Shuffle is no different. At the end of the Shuffle is a cap that you can pop off, leaving way to a USB which is how you both sync the Shuffle and power up the Shuffle battery. Popping the Shuffle into your USB port on your computer automatically will bring up iTunes and immediately start powering up the battery. The way the Shuffle works with iTunes is that it uses an autofill feature either taking randomly from your entire library, or taking randomly from specific playlists that you've created. I've created three Shuffle specific playlists through iTunes and use those to fill the Shuffle.

On the back of the small unit, you have three settings. The off position, an on position which will play the songs as ordered by iTunes, and a shuffle position which will shuffle your randomly picked songs. A shuffle of a shuffle. My favorite usage is the shuffle option since I use playlists, but the regular on setting has been useful if I want to listen to specific albums all the way through.

I think one of the best features on the unit is the button placement. Obviously, since there's no screen, you don't have a scroll wheel. But you do have a very large play button in the middle of a circle that houses the forward, back, and volume buttons. This makes it very easy to be running or doing something else where you want to be able to use it with just touch and feel.

The sound is great as it is on the other iPods and you do get another set of those ear buds. I do have to pump up the volume slightly more, but that might be because I'm usually outside using the Shuffle, where as I'm inside a building when I use my 40 gig iPod. If you're using the Shuffle to work out with, you might want to get another set of head phones that are going to be wrapped around your ears as the buds are known to get loose.

Apple says you'll get about 12 hours of playtime on one full charge, and though I can't say I've let the Shuffle sit for 12 hours at a time running, I have noticed that based on my workouts, it's around 10-12 hours before I have to charge it again.

One thing I find funny is how people will knock the flash memory space. I've read reviews that have said a con is that it only holds 120 songs or it only has 512mb of memory. Well, when you purchased it, you knew that. It doesn't have any less than stated. So how is that a con? If you needed more, you'd buy a 1 gig Shuffle. The one obvious set back is the lack of screen. In my case, it'd be a waste. But I can definitely see why people would want it there. I'm sure it's a possibility for future inclinations of the product.

As a stand alone, it's a really good product. As is the case with all iPod's, they have some really nice (and some unneccessary) accessories. I'd say that the sports case is a must if you plan on working out with it. They also have the rubber casings that the other iPods also have. You can color up your lanyards and USB caps if you wish. And you can buy most other accessories that have to do with listening to music in your car or at home, as the other iPods that are available.

With the new iPod Nano just released, I wonder what the shelf life of this product is going to be. I think they'll start to slightly increase the memory capacity first, and then also probably drop them in price slightly. The Nano might be sold as a utility device because it is so small, but those things are very delicate and I wouldn't do much with the Nano other than carry it around in my pocket. And you might not even want to do that for fear of sitting down and your leg pressure causing the screen to break as has been the case with some users. And that's what may be most valuable about the Shuffle. It's not delicate. You can do things with it that you might be scared to do with your other iPod incarnations. I wouldn't do anything physical with my 40 gig iPod because it's basically a mini-hard drive. The Shuffle isn't, and it'd be like running with a USB drive in your pocket. You won't have to worry about ruining it. At least make sure you don't leave it your pants pocket and run it through the wash.

Overall, I love the product. I'm just as happy with it as I am with my 40 gig iPod. It works perfectly with iTunes and the sync is nearly as fast through USB as my 40 gig is through firewire. And it's especially perfect if you want something small and out of the way when you work out. The worst thing for me is doing curls with an arm band that all of a sudden needs to be moved down to your wrist. With this player, you just hide it around your neck, and under your shirt and don't have to worry.