Apple iPod shuffle 1GB Green
See it at Amazon.co.uk for £69.36Average Customer Rating
(4.5 out of 5)
Amazon Customer Reviews
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(5 out of 5)Love the Green!
If you are a runner, then this HAS to be on your shorts somewhere. Steve Jobs has freed up the lone-runner experience over the past few years. Only 4 or 5 years ago my right hand had a Sony Waterproof Cassette Walkman velcro'ed to it (if the Walkman was clipped to your waist it jumped and warbled too much) which also meant to carry a water bottle tied up both your hands.
The first generation iPod Shuffle was a revalation, not only could you carry more music than you needed even for a marathon but it fitted into the key pocket on most running shorts. (but your house key was relegated to being tied on to your laces)
Now with the new version, you can clip it to your shorts and feel no bulk or weight atall whilst running along to all your best running and motivational tunes. And your keys can go back into the thoughtfully placed pocket on your shorts.
The included headphones, like for all iPods are pretty awful and do not stay in your ears when running but other than that the new Shuffle has to be the best workout kit (and bargain) of the year.
As of this week in the US Apple have released the Shuffle in a number of different (bright and terrific) colours. They are outstanding.....
(5 out of 5)Runner's Saviour
I got the iPod Shuffle 2nd generation purely for using at the gym so I don't have to put up with the usual nonsense other patrons listen to. I got the Shuffle in green as there was nothing else but pink available. It is incredibly small in the flesh, even though I had often spied it in the shops and gazed through the plastic packaging with lustful eyes.
The Shuffle is all metal and feels solid in the hand and heavier than I expected. It synced with my Mac Mini with all the efficiency I expected (although it will work with Windows, my previous PC was Win XP and it worked fine with iTunes) and within minutes I had a handful of albums thrown onto it. My MP3's are always ripped at 192kbps and you can tick an option when putting music onto the Shuffle to convert the selection to 128kps AAC. This is a payoff between high quality audio and small file size to cram more tunes onto the Shuffle. I find the quality acceptable for the gym but beware, it takes a while to convert the tracks as its not a case of just moving them across. Anyway, the quality is okay, I use Sennheiser CX300's with the Shuffle and they are a damn fine set of headphones. I listen to an eclectic variety of music and the Shuffle does it justice.
The only fault I could mention is that there is a low level hum or hiss audible in track gaps or areas of silence. I have read that a lot of Shuffles have this and when the music kicks in to any level it totally disappears. Annoying but only a minor niggle.
The transfer process is very versatile with iTunes. It is a bit boring to bang on about software (this aint what you buy a Shuffle for) but users of iTunes will know what a fantastic piece of software it is. You can transfer tracks from certain playlists in your library, picking higher rated tunes first, autofill the Shuffle randomly each time you dock it or drag tracks across manually. The process is user friendly, non-intimidating and a good way to fine tune your music. You will be looking at iTunes a lot, it is the only clue as to what tracks you have in the Shuffle and stats RE remaining storage space etc.
The 'shuffle' feature is something I never used on my full size iPod as its buried away in a menu but I use it all the time on my Shuffle. Its really quite cool, I have a few tracks I use to get me through my run on the treadmill then I flick it to shuffle and see what gets thrown my way. A handy feature that I had previously thought of as a gimmick.
The Shuffle is a difficult product to review, it is a music player and there is little more to say than that. It has been stripped back (and then some) to the absolute basics of what an MP3 player is. Some people are saying its more an experience rather than a valid product, I disagree but it is not far from the truth. Yet again Apple have come up with a product for which I had no previous need and somehow it has become indispensable.
If you partake in any kind of fitness acitivty this product is a must buy.
(4 out of 5)Fantastic
I purchased my ipod solely for gym use. I have tried other ipod's but they have either been too big or will not stay in my pocket when running or doing heavy exercise.
This small item eradicated both of those problems. This is great if you take running seriously and need sometihng sturdy as you can attach it to your person. I can now spend hours on the treadmill and feel motivated.
Only downside for me I will be that I want a bigger ipod eventually but 240 songs is plenty for the gym and a brilliant way to introduce an Ipod into your life at a cheap starting point.
(3 out of 5)It's pretty, what more do you want?
For the size, this is an expensive MP3 player. You pay for the style. The compatibility with itunes I'm ambivalent about, I don't like being told how to do things and itunes bullies you into doing everything its way. Luckily many mac coders make software to circumvent it's 'defects'. The first thing it did after updating my shuffle was to corrupt it, requiring another update, then an age as it converted files to 128 AAC, which took a few goes as itunes would crash and require a force quit. Not an illustrious start.
The sound quality on default (128 AAC and apple headphones) is poor and sounds 'boxy', invest in a better set of headphones, but the shuffle won't appeal to an audiophile. It's good to have a backup ipod. Another plus point is it's pretty and the battery lasts a long time (but don't forget Apple has sealed in the battery, so once it's dead, it's dead for good, style over longevity is a key design feature of apple products).
It plays music and absolutely nothing else, small and pretty and fine for walking around the streets. It's just nothing special. I got my from Currys on the highstreet with a free £15 itunes code, so I'm not complaining (much), I like the shuffle. Something nice until they finally produce a 6Gen ipod. But there is better and cheaper out there, if itunes shopping and Mac computers are irrelevant to you. I almost did and I use apple computers. The shuffle competes in a more crowded market than an ipod video.
Recommend you buy a power adaptor, otherwise you need to leave your computer on to charge it. It won't charge if the computer is sleeping, inconvenient for a laptop and your carbon footprint. It will cost you less than £15, that and a set of headphones and this shuffle starts getting expensive... did I say it's pretty?
(5 out of 5)Does the job!
I purchased this Ipod at the start of the year for my partners birthday and all I can say is it does the job well! He wasnt bothered about there being a screen, watching videos etc. but simply wanted to be able to listen to music on his way to work without holding on to a large, bulky device. Whats more he has a rather limited music taste so doesnt have lots of music either. The Ipod shuffle is ideal if you want something thats barely noticeable and just want to listen to your music full stop (which most of us do). Its a fraction of the price of a Nano but with all the essentials that youd need from an MP3 device!