Review On The iPod Shuffle 3rd Generation

When I first saw the new iPod Shuffle I decided to get up walk down the street and scream “I Can’t See It”. This is a complete joke of a product that Apple has put out as they’ve slowly receded the size along with various hardware features. With it being the worlds smallest music audio device there are endless questions being raised about whether the size is ample enough along with Apple’s continuing downsize of the Shuffle in exchange for rapidly increasing prices.

Apple has recently released a whole new lineup of products including the Macbook Pro and Macbook. Also they’ve finally announced new features that iPhone 3.0 is scheduled to have installed. With yearly releases being all to common with Apple products I believe that they’re running out of ideas. The iPod Shuffle is an extremely prominent example of Apple’s feature shortage.

The Size

The size of the new iPod Shuffle is getting so small that choking on it will never happen as it will squeak right through you’re throat straight into your stomach. Of course that’s just an exaggeration and swallowing the Shuffle is not recommended but unfortunately it still leaves the question of how small is to small?

Now almost as small as the “enter” button on your keyboard this chunk of metal is slowly becoming an athletes only device. I personally can’t imagine wearing the Shuffle anywhere but on the race track due to it’s micro size feeling as misplacing it would unfortunately most likely be an all to similar experience.

Controls on the what?

Yes Apple has decided to place the navigational controls of the iPod shuffle along the lanyard section of the ear buds. Positioning the buttons along this area was and still is, in my opinion, a huge mistake. By doing this Apple has almost taken away user control of the device by limiting choice on purchasing ear buds and earphones but also premiering an annoyance that is having to reach up to press the buttons. I know that doesn’t seem like a large deal but the feeling is almost unnatural. Having to feel along the cords to find the buttons is an extraneous chore for the lazy(most people who use technology).

What, it talks?

Yes, your iPod Shuffle can now communicate with you….. OK maybe not so, but it’s still nice to have this device speak the audio track you’re playing by voicing the song and artist you’re listening to.

When I first heard about this feature I thought it was a horrible idea. But after due consideration and time toying with the device I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s better than nothing. As the Shuffle has no way of you being able to visually view your song on a screen it’s actually fitting to have some way of knowing what song you’re listening to.

The automated voices are different depending on whether you use a Macintosh or a Windows computer. While on a Mac you’ll hear a male voice on a Windows machine you’ll hear a female.

Switches on The Shuffle

The new iPod Shuffle has one button on the top left hand corner. Moreover, it’s a slider that lets you chose between three options. These options include turning the Shuffle off, Shuffle mode, and an orderly play mode. Of course you don’t need me to explain what these three options do but for you newbie’s out there I’ll quickly go through the details:

Shuffle is playing songs randomly, orderly play is playing the songs in order(according to your iTunes library), and off is shutting the device off completely.

The Tech Specs

The general specifications of the Shuffle has changed dramatically. With a larger capacity and an increasing amount of battery life, this is only the beginning of what has changed on the new Shuffle.

As mentioned the capacity has changed for the better in comparison to previous installments of the shuffle. Now with a 4 gigabyte flash drive you can now listen to up to 1000 songs. The format that works best with the Shuffles is ACC  coming through at 128 Kbps.

The design of the device is probably the most obvious change. Now only available in two colors(black and silver) the beautiful spectrum of Shuffle 2.0 and it’s variety of different colors is nowhere to be seen. Also the size dimensions have of course decreased for the most part with the height being 45.2 mm, length 17.5 mm and the width(including the clip) being a tiny 7.8mm. Good luck finding it again in the event of a misplacement!

The battery power of the Shuffle is quite impressive considering it’s size. With up to 10 hours(fully charged) there is no worry of loosing this battery life due to the fact that there’s no screen and other functionalities it needs to perform.

Conclusion

The iPod Shuffle is great for anyone who needs a device that’s stylish and small. However, it’s not for people that look for tons of features and expect great things. The Shuffle is for the simple minded and people who don’t worry about what their listening to. It’s also used by athletes as it provides them with a virtually weightless entertainment system when their going through their daily workout routines.

If you’re looking for a cheaper alternative I recommend forgetting about the new Shuffle and going for older generations while they’re still available. Going just for under $100 dollars in most areas this Shuffle goes for around 30% more than it’s previous versions. Unless you like having navigational controls on you’re earphones there is no compelling reason to upgrade from Shuffle 1.0 and 2.0.