Apple iPod shuffle 512 MB White (1st Generation) OLD MODEL
by Apple Computer
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Apple iPod shuffle 512 MB White (1st Generation) OLD MODEL
Customer Review: Simply Awesome, but Not For All
Summary: 5 Stars
Yesterday I purchased my first MP3 player, the iPod Shuffle. I was extremely excited about this purchase, and when I got it home, opened up the fancy green and white packaging quickly. The minute I saw the size of it, I was amazed. In many pictures and advertisement, the size of the iPod shuffle seems a bit bigger. Its not, Amazingly light and thin, I was perplexed of how music and complex music files could fit into it. I read the little cheat card that comes with the packaging, got myself familiar with the device and got readt to plug it in. I have an iBook G3 laptop Paris 2004 LE edition, and along with the iMac/eMac(some models), it has a plastic 'case' for embelishment. Now the whole point of the iPod Shuffle is that its plug and play, you are able to stick it into your USB port, autofill from iTunes and go listening for up to 17 hours.(thats how long it went for me, Apple underestimates their products battery life) But because of the plastic casing around my laptop, there was no way for me to stick my little buddy iPod Shuffle into my main computer, and only computer with iTunes. Disappointed, I headed over to the Apple Store to pick up the dock, and that flashy sports case. The store, to my amazment, was jam-packed. There were two more iPod shuffles at the counter, and people were fighting to get to them. I looked around and found one of the helpful employees there. They did not have the docks, or cases. Instead I got a USB re-direction port, just a cord with a USB port and a USB plug, so I could Shuffle. Its a simple problem with a simple solution, but Apple should consider the many thousand people who still have their older products. Just because a company evolves, doesn't mean that all of their customers will upgrade. When I finally got my iPod Shuffle hooked up to my laptop, iTunes quickly filled it up with the 123 (perfect for the product) songs on my library. Autofill is an amazing new feature to iTunes, and its very nice how the iPod can update itself, and not re-load songs onto itself. When I put the earbuds in, and turned the little rectangle on, I was amazed at the sound it had. It sounded just as good as by Bose sound system downstairs. The sound quality is awesome, and some mediocre songs sound fantastic on it. Some new, more comfortable earphones, and your ready to go. Some people here complain about the lack of LCD, well Apple was trying to reach a more leanient part of their customers. I, and I assume many others, listen to their songs in iTunes on the Party Shuffle mode. The price is very nice, and there was no way I was going to buy another iPod for the ridiculous $300 they were expecting. Some people are not as money safe as I, but many are. Apple iPod Shuffle is your own private Radio station on the go, with only the songs you want and the choice to skip a song. Many mention the difficulty that is brought up when trying to find a song. The whole point is not to find a specific song, but to mix it up. Also, a big up for this iPod is the motion. Shuffle, is no skip, unlike the other iPods where if you shake it a bit, the music goes crazy. You can do all the crazy moves the people do in the Shuffle commercial and it wont skip even once. Overall, this little baby is for those who are fine with not knowing whats coming next, and not knowing what their listening to. And who needs a voice recorder, FM radio and other things in their MP3? Their just useless add-ons to a music player. Overall, iPod Shuffle is for people OK with not knowing what's coming, athletes, and people with few favorite songs. I recommend this product to those kind of people. Happy ShufflingCustomer Review: Handy and helpful
Summary: 4 Stars
I'll admit...it was a risky decision going with such a bare bones player. But as im getting used to it, im finding i spend ALL of my time on the shuffle setting. it is nice to use as a continuous 4 hour cd. not only is it cool, but its TINY. when i say tiny, i mean like the same length and about 4/3 as wide as the adult index finger. On the bottom there is a USB plug. i primarily purchased this item as a souped up USB key. it is only around 30 dollars to go from 512 USB key to ipod shuffle, so that's a cheap way to use extra space on your USB key for music.
PROS
1. TEENY TINY SIZE. fits in pocket no problem.
2. Price per gigabyte is unheard of in the flash player market
3. Cable free USB drive capabilities
4. Rechargeable battery gets better than advertised life. like up to 33% better(no lie! there are reviews on the internet that agree with me. I've had mine for a week and have charged spurradically for a total of 3 hours and there is no sign of the battery losing power)
5. The battery charges from USB jacks, so I can charge it at school or work
6. Double redundant hold function and YES THERE IS A SHUFFLE FUNCTION (many reviewers claim there isnt)
7. Lanyard included, so it's extrtemely fashionable and so fetch
8. It's hard to dig up dirt on (so far)
9. I have 120 songs on it and i have room for about 20 more (lots of extra memory)
10. So lightweight that it can hang from the earphone cord plug without falling off. Who needs a lanyard when you can just use the earphone cord? ;)
CONS
1. The most frequent complaint, no screen (this actually isn't that bad. It goes along with the "what's coming next" theme. Also, if a screen had been included, the battery life would be unacceptably low. You get used to it very fast)
2. No sort of organization or navigational system. you just load one playlist, and that's the order. No subfolders. you navigate by clicking sideways.
3. No extras, like voice recorder, FM Tuner, line in recording, equalizer, etc. its just a music player, with a shuffle function.
4. Mine took 5 hours to install. spent 30 mins on hold with apple to learn that i only had one incident of telephone support. NOTE: the problem was i had a bad iTunes install.
5. Sound begins popping when at the highest volume levels (like a mini speaker system on a super loud setting)
6. Accessories severely overpriced
7. As with all apple products, the casing scratches easily
8. Small size makes it easier to lose
9. ITS WHITE there needs to be an HP tattoo for this or something to make it non-obvious you are using an iPod
I absolutely adore it though. It works like a charm, and attracts looks when im listening.
I wish apple had designed it like the iRiver players like this
I***I ........ .-'-.I
I***I ........( O )=-~
I***I ........ '-.-'I
The dots are a screen. The stars are the USB cap. The circle to the right is a mini-click wheel this would give it a nav system and better added features.
They also should have designed it with integrated neckstrap/earphones like the iRiver n10 and the MPIO FL300 (the other two players in the wearable category). All the cords dangling look really really dorky. without the earphones it is cool though.
OVERALL RATING: BUY
Customer Review: The latest news about iPod family
Summary: 5 Stars
**** LATEST update to iPod family ****
- iPod & iPod photo lines merged; no more iPod photo 30 GB
- iPod comes in two capacities - 20 GB ($299), 60 GB ($399) with color screen & photo support
- U2 iPod (20 GB) down to $329 from $349 - with color screen & photo support
- iPod shuffle 1 GB down to $129 from $149
- iPod 60 GB down to $399 from $449
- new version of iTunes (4.9) that support podcasts
This is not a review of iPod shuffle as such - great reviews are available already. Here is some information that might help in deciding which iPod to go for.
Apple announced a major upgrade to the iPod lineup today (23 Feb 2005).
The biggest advantage is the reduction in price ($ per GB) and improvement in battery life. Another significant change is that USB 2.0 is being emphasized although FireWire continues to be supported. AC adapter is USB based instead of FireWIre and the FireWire based AC adapter still sells as a separate product.
The impact on iPod mini:
> A new model, iPod mini 6 GB is introduced for $249
> iPod mini 4 GB now priced at $199 ($50 down from earlier price)
> Change in colors - now mini is available in new shades of Silver, Blue, Pink, and Green (the Gold color is discontinued)
> Major improvement in battery life - up to 18 hours (was 8 hours earlier)
> AC adapter ($29) and firewire cable ($19) no longer shipped with mini (have to be bought seperately if you really need)
> iPod mini 4 GB and 6 GB now ship with only three things: earphones, belt clip, and USB 2.0 cable
> The indicators on the click wheel now match the color of the iPod mini
The impact on bigger iPods:
> iPod 40 GB is discontinued
> iPod photo 40 GB is discontinued
> iPod photo 30 GB (new product) replaces the 40 GB iPod photo and the regular iPod 40 GB
> iPod photo 60 GB now costs $150 less -- $449 instead of $599
> iPod photo 30 GB costs $349 ($150 less than iPod photo 40 GB and $50 less than regular iPod 40 GB)
> iPod dock ($39), AV cable ($19), carrying case ($29), and firewire cable ($19) do not ship with iPod photo (you may not really need them)
> Now we get three things with iPod photo: earphones, USB based AC adapter, USB 2.0 cable
> In additon to the above, a firewire cable continues to ship with iPod 20 GB & iPod U2 edition
> iPod photo Camera Connector is introduced - this can be used for connecting your digital camera directly to the iPod
With these changes, there is an interesting $50 gap between:
> iPod 20 GB and iPod photo 30 GB
> iPod mini 6 GB and iPod 20 GB (as earlier)
> iPod mini 4 GB and iPod mini 6 GB
> iPod shuffle 1 GB and iPod mini 4 GB
> iPod shuffle 512 MB and iPod shuffle 1 GB (as earlier)
Price, size, weight, and ease of use are major considerations while buying an iPod shuffle. If price is the only factor, iPod mini could be a better choice over shuffle. I have all the models of iPod (shuffle, mini, regular 40 GB, and photo 60 GB) and I find myself sticking to the iPod photo 60 GB since it carries all my music and has a better, color-based user interface.
Customer Review: 10 Reasons I Love My iPod!
Summary: 5 Stars
Here are 10 things I love about my iPod:
1. It's so lightweight! You barely even know you have it on you!
2. Music downloads to it so easily! You just plug it into your computer like a flash drive, and then you can transfer files in a matter of a few minutes!
3. You can fast-forward through a long file! I like to listen to lengthy podcasts, so I can fast-forward through the commercials on talk radio programs.
4. When you turn it off, it keeps its place! This is totally a must if you like to listen to audiobooks and podcasts. My old MP3 player never did this!
5. No cables! It just plugs into the USB port on your computer... Now I can plug it into my computer at home and at work easily! I don't need to purchase an extra cable or carry one with me.
6. I can use it as a flashdrive! I can put music on it, and data files. As a teacher, I constantly back up my gradebook files, and now I can use my iPod for this!
7. Simplicity! I noticed some people complaining about the lack of a display to navigate files on your iPod. My response to this is that if you want an MP3 player to store huge amounts of files, this is not the player for you. The beauty of this player is that you can so easily plug it into your computer and download files you want to hear for a day or two. So if you like a lot of variety, you just update the playlist. If you want files in order, the iPod will play them in order. If you need a display to know where you are in your playlist, then the files you put on your playlist weren't the ones you wanted to hear. Edit your playlist!
8. ITunes rocks! I owned about 6,000 songs all stored in "My Music" folder with no consistency about how my collection was organized. I dreaded having to go through it all and rename everything so I could find files I was looking for. Everytime I wanted to find music, I was using my memory (not reliable) as to where it was located, or the "search" feature in Windows. It took forever, and I would get so frustrated. I downloaded ITunes (free, by the way) and it organized all my files for me! I have a few files to clean up and rename, but now I can search my database of music so easily by keywords, artist names, genres, etc. I am now going back to add the rest of my CD collection, and I love the way it catalogues everything! ITunes makes it so easy to update your iPod.
9. Using the ITunes Music Store is seamless! ITunes is so user friendly and has a bigger collection of music than any other site to download music.You can search your collection and then quickly go to the Music Store and look for songs you want to add to your collection. I have used Napster (which is so lame -- especially when you have a technical problem) and a few others, and this is the most user-friendly site for music downloads I have seen.
10. Free podcasts for every topic under the sun! I love being able to download some of my favorite talk radio shows and then listen to them (all free) and fast forward through the commercials, so I can listen to the whole show in less time than if I was listening live on the radio. Plus, I can take it with me anywhere!
Go ahead... you're thinking about buying one. Go ahead and do it!
Customer Review: Very small, very light, no delicate parts, no display.
Summary: 4 Stars
Latest model of iPod is iPod shuffle which is just like any other flash memory based mp3 player which fit into USB port of PC and also act as flash disk to move files from one PC/Mac to another. But unlike regular flash mp3 player, it doesn't have display screen to show you song name or duration, doesn't have fm radio, doesn't do recording of audio, and doesn't need AA or AAA battery. It costs US$99 for 512mb version and US$149 for 1GB version. Disadvantage of this model is it is screenless and you have to hear song to figure out which one it is. Advantage is it is tiny, no moving parts, internal rechargeable battery and can be worn on bicep during your gym or jog routine and can be worn like necklace during your work/travel and there is little on body of iPod shuffle which can get damaged during rough use.
I got iPod shuffle 512mb and I am suitably impressed. As name suggests this is supposed to shuffle all songs you put inside it and then play it randomly and hence no screen to allow you to choose songs. You can play songs in sequence too. On front it has circular dial which has play/pause button, rewind and forward, +/- volume. On back side of player you can find OFF, Sequential play and shuffle play button and battery status button. It doesn't have STOP button, you just switch off the player. On top end of iPod shuffle is earphone socket and on bottom you have USB connector. Compared to hard disk based expensive iPod, shuffle is very light at 22gram.It is of same size as pack of chewing gum and you will never notice it in your shirt pocket. It comes with white earbuds with 2 set of foam covers, lane yard to hang iPod on neck and disk containing iTunes software for your PC and Mac. It works with any high powered USB 2.0 pc connection to transfer files/songs and charge its internal battery. It takes 4 hour to fully charge iPod which will play audio up to 12 hours. Since there is no LCD screen to drain battery you would get entire battery juice playing only music. Unlike other iPod, iPod shuffle can talk to only one PC or Mac at a time and can't use music files from multiple PCs. So you may need to have your entire music collection at one PC. You can then use manual selection of songs to fill up iPod shuffle or use its Autofill function to give you surprises; it can empty the iPod shuffle and fill it up with new collection of songs from your PC. You can set aside part of 512mb or 1gb as disk area to move files from one PC to another PC. You can't use iPod shuffle to shift music from iPod to any other PC but this limitation can be easily circumvented once you study how and where iPod stores your music.
1GB version iPod shuffle costs $149 but if small size is not a priority then have a look at iPod mini which now goes for $189 for 4GB version and has all display functionality. Not having display can be often frustrating when listening to audio books where files don't start with name of audio book.
All iPod models will play AAC and MP3 files but won't play WMA files. You can convert them to AAC files before transferring them to iPod. It will also play audioble format and wav files.
The Bottom Line
Go for this if you want something for less then $100. Avoid 1GB shuffle, instead go for iPod mini 4gb for US$189.