Digital Trends

Apple iPod Shuffle (512MB)

March 15th, 2005 | by Ian Bell

Design and Features

Out of the box you get the Shuffle player, a neck strap, ear buds, Apple's iTunes software, and the product manual. If you are expecting a little more in the way of goodies, you will be sadly disappointed. You can however purchase any number of accessories from Apple's website or retail stores. This includes a docking station, armband, battery pack and other accessories to help make the Shuffle fit your digital lifestyle. The iPod Shuffle is bathed in white to match the rest of the iPod product line and has a very minimalist look to it. On the front of the unit you will find the basic controls such as play/pause fast forward/rewind and volume adjustment. Flipping the unit over will reveal the power and play mode switch as well as the battery indicator light. The iPod Shuffle connects to your computer by directly plugging into an available USB port.

Probably the most notable feature of the iPod Shuffle is its physical dimensions. Arguably the same size as a pack of gum, the lightweight Shuffle is basically a memory stick in a white case. We have to guess that Apple achieved its small size by leaving out large components such as an LCD display or a microphone input. Apple's design philosophy is simplicity. Literally.

It is fair to say that Apple wanted to take the iPod design and ease of use and apply those elements to the new Shuffle audio player. The problem is that Apple has gone too far with this approach. Because the original Apple iPod was introduced in the early stages of the hard drive based audio player market, Apple was able to help define how that segment progressed and developed. But the flash player market is a completely different story. Flash based players have been around years before hard drives audio players were introduced to the portable audio player market.  The flash based player market is probably very close to the end of its product life cycle, with the introduction of the small pocket drives becoming increasingly popular. So it would have been wise for Apple to pay closer attention to the players from iRiver, Samsung and Creative to see which features are requirements to the end user. Missing from the iPod Shuffle are features such as an LCD display, equalizer settings, voice recording, integrated FM tuner among other popular features found in competing players. From a features standpoint, the iPod Shuffle is bone dry. But then again that is what Apple is shooting for.

The iPod Shuffle supports MP3 audio encoded at up to 320Kbps, AAC audio encoded at up to 320Kbps, protected AAC audio from the iTunes music store, the Audible music format and WAV files. Apple updates their firmware fairly regularly and has the option to add support for other audio formats if they choose to do so.

The Apple iPod Shuffle supports Mac OSX v10.2.8 or Mac OSX 10.3.4 and later as well as Microsoft Windows 2000 with SP4 or later and Windows XP Home or Professional with SP2 or later installed.

The ear buds that come with the iPod Shuffle are of relatively high quality and what you should expect from Apple. People that plan on using the Shuffle while working out will love the long cord and the optional armband. Otherwise, you can wear the Shuffle like a necklace, letting it dangle in front of your chest.