Apple iPod Shuffle 1 GB

Home » Reviews » Entertainment » Portable Audio/Video

Apple iPod Shuffle 1 GB

, Mar 21, 2005 0000 hrs IST

Is the iPod Shuffle just a looming uncertainty?

Durable, Lightweight, Thin, Full control (play / pause / skip / volume / shuffle)

No LCD display, Slightly expensive, No drag-and-drop

Expert Rating :

Expert Review

The Shuffle is very easy to use - all the basic controls have their own buttons and they are all you need. It has a small LED hidden behind the white plastic above the control wheel that lights up in green, orange and red colors to indicate various states. Behind the unit is the off/sequential/shuffle play switch, so yeah, you CAN play music in a normal album order despite the singular, focused promotional Shuffle gimmick!

Its ultra-light weight can be attributed to the thin, internal battery that's rechargeable via USB and which provides a continuous play time of around 10-11 hours. This is a good alternative to having heavy AAA size batteries (also makes the Shuffle thinner), but it means that you need a ready USB port to charge it when it runs out. If you're planning on taking it with you to a place where you may not have a computer around, you might want to think of getting a stand-alone charger, that's sold separately. It also means that once the battery is "over" (i.e. can't be recharged any more), your iPod will be a useless white stick. You can't even use it as a paperweight!!

The device sticks directly into your USB port and shows up as a removable drive, but just like the other iPods, you can't load music onto it by simply dragging and dropping files from Windows Explorer. Yes, you CAN drag and drop files into the drive, but the music won't play in the iPod when you unplug it. You need to transfer files using iTunes, which comes with the Shuffle. I don't like iTunes. I want to drag and drop selected tracks from "My Music" folder. I can't do that. I can use that ml_ipod plugin for Winamp, but even that requires me to add my music to the Winamp Library and then transfer it. Still no drag and drop.

Wondering about the sound quality? Each and every iPod has had rich, crystal clear sound even through the stock earphones that come with the pieces. The Shuffle is equally great in quality and is also very loud. There is no equalizer, but that's also an extraneous feature when you consider the main USP for the device.

One thing missing in the Shuffle is an FM tuner. For a low-capacity flash-based MP3 player, the lack of an FM tuner can be quite a turn off. There are lots of cheaper flash-based MP3 players (like Transcend - good quality), that offer an FM tuner and an LCD display, at a comparatively low price (and I can drag and drop into it!). The new Transcend JetFlash MP3/FM 1 GB will retail for around Rs. 11,500, which is Rs. 1,000 less than the price of the 1 GB iPod Shuffle. So if you're considering a flash-based player, hold on for a little while, let us review that Transcend and then make your purchase decision!

I'll say, though, if you're looking for style, the iPod Shuffle at Rs. 12,400 is your mantra.

Test Unit Sourced From: Apple India.