Audio Player: Apple iPod Shuffle Review

We take a closer look to see if the iPod shuffle has been made slimmer and sexier at the expense of usability.

IN THE past Apple hasn’t been very good at keeping its new iPods under wraps as news of upcoming models usually flooded the Net weeks before the products were launched.

However, the third generation iPod shuffle, now smaller than ever, slipped under the radar and surprised everyone when it was revealed last month.

It is quite amazing how Apple has managed to again shrink its smallest iPod another notch.

You’ll rub your eyes in disbelief at just how small this player is as it’s no longer than a match stick.

Marvellously small

Encased in a charcoal grey aluminium casing, the new iPod shuffle is by far the smallest music player I’ve laid my eyes on. It’s tiny, lightweight and has a minimalist design with virtually no buttons.

In fact, you could easily mistake it for a mini USB thumbdrive if not for the small slider button that turns on the device and switches between shuffle and normal mode, and the 3.5mm earphone jack.

On the back is a small clip that helps keep the shuffle securely fastened to your shirt or pants pocket.

The stainless steel clip is made of the same material used on the back of most modern iPods which is prone to attract fingerprints and grime.

I still find it quite ridiculous as to why the shuffle is so easily scratched and tarnished. And to no surprise, my review unit sports a number of small scratches after only using it for just a week.

Needless to say, if you want your iPod to look pristine it’s best to put it in a pouch or purse that’s devoid of any objects that could scratch it.

Moving on, the shuffle sounds great with very crisp audio and is able to handle a range of tunes — it’s able to capture both vocal and instruments clearly.

Regardless of the track or genre of song you play, it delivers excellent sound that is pleasing to the ear.

The shuffle is great for use as a portable music player for your daily commute or workout at the gym.

One aspect that has taken a hit from the reduced size is the shuffle’s battery life, which is now only 10 hours on a single charge.

Flicking the power switch on and off quickly will activate a tiny LED light that will show the battery level.

While 10 hours isn’t very long and it certainly isn’t good enough for a long haul flight, the shuffle is great for day-to-day listening.

TINY: The iPod shuffle is as long as a matchstick.

New controls

The first thing you will come to notice when using the iPod shuffle is that there are no buttons for you to interact with. Gone are the five pause, play, volume control and song selection buttons found in the previous version of the shuffle.

This may leave you scratching your head for a moment until you realise that the controls have actually been shifted to the earphones.

Located slightly below the right earbud, the built-in controls consist of three buttons.

The centre button lets you pause, play and skip tracks depending on the number of clicks. Clicking once toggles between pause and play, while two clicks skips to the next track and three skips to the previous one.

The two buttons surrounding it is used for controlling the volume.

There is no sure way of selecting a specific track other than skipping through an entire playlist to find it.

Given the fact that this iPod is called the shuffle then it’s not surprising that its main function is to randomly cycle through your songs.

If you want full control over your music, this isn’t the iPod for you.

Of course, the earphones’ buttons only work with the shuffle and won’t function with any other music player.

Holding down the centre button engages VoiceOver, a text-to-speech feature that reads out the title of the song and artist you are currently listening to.

The VoiceOver can speak in languages such as English, Japanese, French and Chinese although it sounds a little robotic.

So, if you have a Chinese song by an English artist, it will read the title and artist using the Chinese voice. So while it’ll read the title okay but it’ll pronounce the artist name in a funny accent.

VoiceOver is a nifty feature if you are unsure of the name of a song you’re listening to though the novelty wears thin quickly.

Another new feature of the shuffle is its ability to select a playlist, which is done by holding down the centre button longer than a second.

There’s no way to scroll through the list so you will have to wait and listen as the iPod reads out each playlist before selecting it.

While it may sound a little tedious, the ability to select playlists, podcasts and audiobooks is a much welcomed addition.

FANCY: The controls on the iPod shuffle have
been shifted to the earphones.

Problems

Unlike other iPods, you will not get the freedom to use a better grade of earphones with the shuffle as the controls are built-in to the bundled earphones.

So, if you lose the earphones, you will have to get the same model and it won’t be cheap. I can only hope compatible third-party earphones will be out soon.

Also, when connected to an external speaker system such as an in-car or home stereo player, you’ll have very limited control of the player.

I could only adjust the volume and found it quite annoying that I had to select a playlist before plugging the shuffle into my car’s stereo speakers.

Overall, the shuffle’s controls is unnecessarily complex as you will have to memorise a series of clicks.

So unlike other Apple products, this is not one that you can use without reading the manual.

Sacrificing physical buttons for the sake of design may have made the shuffle smaller and sexier but it’s no longer a player that is easy to use.

Bigger is better?

The shuffle may have shrunk in size but it has an even bigger storage — 4GB. That’s enough space to store about 1,000 songs which should be ample for most users.

However, while more memory is good for most music players but the same cannot be said for the shuffle as it lacks a display.

Without a display it can be quite tedious picking the songs you want if you have a large collection stored on it.

Relying on the VoiceOver feature to change playlists is of some help but it’s still not as easy as having a screen which will allow you to quickly skip over the ones you don’t want.

However, with the bigger storage space you can now have songs encoded in higher bitrates.

Conclusion

The iPod shuffle is an improvement over its predecessor as it can select playlists, has a larger storage to hold more songs and is smaller in size.

However, the lack of buttons on the player means you have to memorise complex commands, which is not what you would expect of Apple products.

Also, you are stuck with the stock earphones and will have to buy the same model should you lose it.

If you don’t mind surrendering control of your music to the shuffle and enjoy listening to random selections, then this is the player for you.

However, users who want to be in control and be able to easily select songs and podcasts should check out the iPod nano instead.

Still, for USD76.54 the iPod shuffle is sexy, slim and a decent music player.

Pros: Small and lightweight; playlists can be chosen; large storage ­capacity.

Cons: Complex controls; cannot use third-party earphones.

Portable music player

Manufacturer: Apple

Supported audio formats: AAC, MP3, AIFF, Apple Lossless, AIFF, WAV

Storage: 4GB

Battery: Rechargeable lithium-ion

Bundled accessories: Earphones with built-in controls, USB cable

Dimensions: 38.7 x 6.2mm x 90.7mm

Weight: 10.7g


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