“The tiny iPod shuffle remains the iPod Apple makes the least of a song and dance about, but it’s no less a player worthy of buyers’ consideration than its label-mates,” Nick Hawkesmoor reports for The Register.
“The second-generation iPod shuffle Apple revamped last week remains almost entirely the same as the version announced way back in 2006,” Hawkesmoor reports.
“One difference [besides new colors] between then and now is the price. A 2GB Shuffle will set you back today £45/$69 – £10 and $10 less than a 1GB model would have cost you two years ago. Then, the 1GB Shuffle was priced at £55/$79. Now it’s £32/$49,” Hawkesmoor reports.
“Complain about other iPods, but bizarrely perhaps, the iPod shuffle offers one of the best sonic performances of the lot. It beats our first-gen iPhone and our old Nano, for example. Songs have more clarity and more immediacy on the cheap model,” Hawkesmoor reports.
“It’s still a great player to keep in a bag or in the car for those occasions when you don’t have your main music player or phone to hand, or you just want a simple, easy machine for random playback or casual listening,” Hawkesmoor reports.
Full review here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Dirty Pierre le Punk” for the heads up.]
I walk every morning for 30-40 minutes using my 1st gen Shuffle, (sometimes I just shuffle along). The battery seems to last for weeks. Great piece of tech.
the Shuffle is AMAZING tech. I use it while running. It’s absolutely perfect: small, light weight, great sound, easy to use, long brttery life for those 20+ mile long runs, and it really takes a beating. It’s passed the Jim test 10 fold. Excellent iPod.
The problem with the Shuffle, and with the new nano, is that none of them are brown.
Sorry, my brain ZuneTang’d for a moment.
I agree with the sound quality of the shuffle. I’ve always been amazed at how good my girlfriend’s shuffle sounds compared to my third generation iPod.
Hey, I have an iPhone (and a 4th Gen iPod) but I use my shuffle every day: I take it to the gym and out biking (at low volume). It’s tough as a rock and never causes my a second thought. Just about perfect for the “throw it in your gym bag” music player!
The shuffle’s batterylife is simply mindblowing. I’ve gone through entire trips with a single battery charge.
I wonder why this one would have the best sound quality. Maybe it has to do with the lack of a display?