Apple iPod Shuffle 1st Generation 512MB Flash MP3 Player

I HATE ITUNES SOFTWARE

Strengths: I HATE ITUNES SOFTWARE

Weakness: I HATE ITUNES SOFTWARE

I HATE ITUNES SOFTWARE
I HATE ITUNES SOFTWARE
I HATE ITUNES SOFTWARE
I HATE ITUNES SOFTWARE
I HATE ITUNES SOFTWARE
I HATE ITUNES SOFTWARE
I HATE ITUNES SOFTWARE
I HATE ITUNES SOFTWARE

By anonymous; - Nov 11, 2005

I LOVE my shuffle!! A lot of...

Strengths: Compact; Easy to use; Terrific sound quality; Decent battery life.

Weakness: Instructions for a novice are confusing; Personally, don't like bud earphones - they hurt; Not a lot of storage capacity (but I knew that going in).

I LOVE my shuffle!! A lot of people criticize that there is no LCD display, but to me, half the fun is being surprised at what the next song will be! Plus, if you prefer, you can transfer and play the songs in the order they appear in your library (or whatever source you choose). The sound quality is much better than I expected. I compared the sound to my walkman cd player, and the sound systems...
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I LOVE my shuffle!! A lot of people criticize that there is no LCD display, but to me, half the fun is being surprised at what the next song will be! Plus, if you prefer, you can transfer and play the songs in the order they appear in your library (or whatever source you choose).

The sound quality is much better than I expected. I compared the sound to my walkman cd player, and the sound systems were WORLDS apart -- I'll never be able to go back to that walkman again!

Plus, it's small, easy to carry (and conceal), and extremely easy to use. The battery life is pretty good as well.

My only real criticism is that, for a IPOD neophyte like myself, I found the operating instructions very unclear. I ended up corrupting the shuffle, and I had to call Apple's customer service for assistance. They did help me fix the problem, but getting through to them took a good 15 -20 minute wait.

The only other thing is that, personally, I don't like bud earphones - they hurt, even with silicone covers. I wish they could make them more comfortable somehow.

All in all, this is a great little sound sound system. Once I grow out of the 512MB, I'll more than likely graduate to the 1GB. But, for now, this suits my needs perfectly!

By brbydol - Apr 12, 2005

I got this for my husband who...

Strengths: Size! No complicated menu, just push play.

Weakness: The OFF/SHUFFLE/PLAY-IN-ORDER button is hard to move, as well as figure out what you're choosing. USB cap cover is so tiny I almost lost it the first day.

I got this for my husband who liked my 20gb iPod but wanted his own smaller version. Then Boom! out came the shuffle. Good deal. He only listens when running and used the shuffle function on our Sony minidisc so this was perfect. And it only had 75 songs on it which was fine by him. So the 512mb can hold 120 or so, so we have plenty of room for his needs. The only thing I don't like is the...
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I got this for my husband who liked my 20gb iPod but wanted his own smaller version. Then Boom! out came the shuffle. Good deal. He only listens when running and used the shuffle function on our Sony minidisc so this was perfect. And it only had 75 songs on it which was fine by him. So the 512mb can hold 120 or so, so we have plenty of room for his needs. The only thing I don't like is the OFF/SHUFFLE... switch. For one, the switch is hard to move, and the other controls are right under it on the other side, so you hit them while switching. (Tho this doesn't seem to be a prob for the hubby. Strong thumb?) The other thing is that I can't tell what I'm selecting. The switch itself is long, and doesn't really line up with the 3 choices. And the green that's revealed under the switch isn't informative enough. The hold switch on my 20gb shows orange when it's holding, so while I'd guess "Green means go" it could also mean "color means off?" Maybe it's just me. But like I said, doesn't seem to bother the user, which is really all that matters.

People complain that it doesn't "do" a lot, but it's NOT SUPPOSED TO. It serves a particular part of the market that wants an iPod, but doesn't need all the whistles and bells. And kudos to apple for making it *just* cheap enough.

And the the USB charging is odd, but if you have an iPod, you obviously have access to a computer. Just plug it in at work or home and it's ready when you need it. And you don't need to drag around yet ANOTHER cable. Tho keep an eye on the USB cover, I almost lost mine among some papers and hadn't had the thing more than 10 hours.

By mbachi - Mar 4, 2005

I love this!!!!!!!!!

Strengths: Good battrie nice size nice volume can carry it around ur neck

Weakness: can't repeat songs can't choise what song u want to listen to with out searching it

I love my Ipod shuffle. I think it is much better than the Ipod, because with the ipod shuffle u can carry it around Ur neck. When I go pratice for softball I can run around with out having to worry about carrying around the Cd player and I don't have to worry about it skipping!! ( i hate that)

By notredamefan9 - Apr 7, 2006

To be fair, I already own a 3G...

Strengths: Very small, no extra cables to carry

Weakness: No LCD, must charge through USB

To be fair, I already own a 3G 10GB iPod. As other reviewers have mentioned, I rarely glance at the LCD and figured that it wouldn't be a big deal on this player. It hasn't been. Plus, when skipping songs, no hard drives spins, saving battery life. I've always wanted a larger USB key for data storage, and this also fits the bill nicely. Thank goodness for Apple's decision to allow the user to...
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To be fair, I already own a 3G 10GB iPod. As other reviewers have mentioned, I rarely glance at the LCD and figured that it wouldn't be a big deal on this player. It hasn't been. Plus, when skipping songs, no hard drives spins, saving battery life.

I've always wanted a larger USB key for data storage, and this also fits the bill nicely. Thank goodness for Apple's decision to allow the user to dedicate space for data.

I love iTunes. Some of the people giving low marks to this player because they don't like the software. Windows Media Player really pales in comparison in the ease of use department with iTunes. I've been using it since the first day it was released for Windows and have encountered no difficulties.

I have yet to charge my iPod shuffle a second time (I only use it about 1 hour a day, so far), and the battery indicator button/light on the back still shows green. So thumbs up on that. However, thumbs down on Apple not including an AC charger and charging 1/3 the price of the unit for one. Fortunately, I've found a work-around -- use a powered USB hub, such as the D-Link DUB-4. The hub will charge your iPod even if you don't have your computer on or around. Also note I haven't had problems with the USB plug's width, but I can see where some people might.

Otherwise, the sound quality is as good as its big brother, as long as you don't use the Apple stock earphones (which are okay, but not great.) Installation is simple and by the book, plus easy to use. I anticipate using it more than my full-size iPod.

By compcons - Feb 20, 2005