The iPod shuffle is basically a memory stick with no display.

It has two LEDs (light emitting diodes) under its plastic housing on the front. The yellow LED shows when the player is charging and a blinking green LED indicates you’ve paused the player.

At the back is another LED, the ‘Battery Status’ button, just below the toggle switch; when pressed, it flashes to give you a general idea of how much battery charge remains… green indicates a full charge… yellow, a low charge… red, very low charge… and no glow means its given up its ghost.

The ear buds that come with the Apple iPod shuffle 1st generation are of relatively high quality. If you plan on using the shuffle while working out you will like the long cord and the optional armband. You can also wear the shuffle like a necklace if you wish to.

At the tip of the Apple iPod shuffle 1st generation is a USB 2.0 connector. This is the means of linking your shuffle to your computer making music transfer very quick and easy.

There are only two playback modes to choose from, random play (thus the name shuffle) and repeat all, which will play your play list in order and repeat the entire collection after the last track has finished playback.

What’s included

Apple’s standard earbuds, lanyard strap.

Verdict

Apple’s iPod Shuffle is meant for anyone who wants to simply play music. I personally purchased the iPod Shuffle to complement my hard drive audio based player.

If you are a sports enthusiast then the iPod Shuffle will be a good choice when working out since the larger iPods are not suitable in such environments.

The design of the iPod Shuffle and the way it sounds is fantastic and iTunes software works great with it. The iPod Shuffle is good at what it does (to play music). It’s a good buy and will highly recommend it.

Pros:

• Portable, small and light weight
• Syncs quickly
• Affordable compared to other MP3 players in the same range
• Easy to use and operate
• Great sound quality

Cons:

• No LCD display
• No equalizer settings
• No voice recording
• No integrated FM tuner
• Inability to pick and choose songs or albums to play
• Only supports Apple iTunes software
• Battery is not removable
• Can’t be plugged into USB ports on some computers

Specification

Review Video:

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