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Review: I've always wanted an iPod, but I've never really had any need for one. Its huge capacity was not for me - I'm ridiculously picky in my musical tastes, and find that only a very small portion of my music library is music that I actually like! However, this has all changed with iPod shuffle. Pre-ordering mine from the Apple Store UK, it arrived in two weeks. I was positively amazed at the size. iPod shuffle is truly, remarkably tiny. It's also amazingly light, unlike several rival players such as Creative's MuVo range of flash players, and represents very good value for money for a flash-based MP3 player. This is in part down to the omission of a screen, no doubt, which also allows this player to have excellent battery life (Apple quotes 12 hours, but I find this to be closer to 16 or 17). Despite the lack of a screen, I have never had any problems with it - I don't need to see what's playing. I know what all the songs are that are on it because I have narrowed the list down to only those that I like the most - any others are extreneous. The use of two coloured LEDs (one green and one amber) hidden behind the white plastic case above the control dial is very clever, and works extremely well. Syncronisation with the bundled iTunes software is a breeze, as ever, and works flawlessly under Mac OS X on my iMac (although I am sure it works just as well on Windows). The ability to use iPod shuffle as a USB flash drive is also very useful due to its sheer capacity, although I realise that flash drives are now very cheap. The included lanyard is a stroke of genius and works brilliantly. The only flaw in this product is the included headphones, which I find don't really fit my ears and leak sound out to nearby people, so I replaced them with a pair of Sony MDR-EX71SLW earphones in matching white, which are much better. If you have ever been enticed by the low price and small form factor of flash-based MP3 players, then this is the perfect device for you. Don't hesitate to purchase one of these - it really is brilliant. |
Audio HiFi
