Internet NOT included.
Written: Jan 14 '07
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Small, Attractive, Good Sound Quality, Clips onto clothing
Cons: Small, Pricey, No display screen, Internet a MUST
The Bottom Line: Splurge and buy the iPod Nano. This one is satisfactory at best.
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| xcandacex's Full Review: Nokia N73 Smartphone |
I purchased the iPod Shuffle (2nd generation) for my husband for Christmas. I purchased it at Walmart in Canada for $87.
I had never actually purchased any MP3 players by Apple (or any from the iPod family anyway) as they always seem a little out of my price range
I had seen all the trendy commercials and heard my younger teenage brother talk endlessly about how 'cool' it is to have an iPod. With that in mind, while shopping for my husband, I saw the iPod Shuffle was relatively cheap in price and knew that he needed a new MP3 player as his $30 one had been lost while he had taken a break at work. He works outside, so losing his music had been a big issue for him.
I purchased the iPod, confident I had made a good choice, brought it home and wrapped it up.
My husband was delighted with the iPod when he unwrapped it Christmas Day and was eager to start playing around with it. When he took the iPod Shuffle out of the plastic case it comes in, I was shocked to see how tiny it was. I guess I expected something a little larger, as did he.
Thankfully it comes with an attached clip so the iPod can be easily attached to clothing. No problems there.
So, my husband goes to plug this miniscule device into our computer, hoping to download all the songs that are on our computer.
Not the case. Our internet had been down for 3 weeks and unbeknownst to us, the internet is REQUIRED to load songs onto this iPod if doing it for the first time. We had an older version of iTunes on our computer but that was not good enough, apparently.
Although we have over 400 MP3's on our computer with or without the internet working, we were unable to load a single song onto the iPod Shuffle which I found to be VERY frustrating and annoying as nothing about this is mentioned anywhere in any instruction guide that comes with the iPod Shuffle. I found it to be a bit misleading.
After our internet was finally fixed (1 week after Christmas) we were finally able to try using the iPod Shuffle again. We loaded it up and an error message appeared on my computer screen telling me to either load the software disc that came with the product or to visit Apple's website to download it. No disc came with the iPod Shuffle.
Great, more waiting.
So, I went to the website and I downloaded the software(which is really just the new version of iTunes) my husband is not very internet savvy, so I waited for the new iTunes to be installed on my computer (our older version did not support the iPod), restarted my computer and FINALLY was able to load songs onto the iPod.
Referring to the instruction manual, when songs are finished loading onto the iPod, or when you are finished charging the battery you must press the eject button on iTunes using your mouse and then safely remove your hardware (ie; the Ipod Shuffle from the docking station)
Every time I press the eject button, it tells me the iPod is still being used by another program, iTunes then begins 'updating' my iPod and will do this until finally, in a fit of frustration, I just remove the iPod from the docking station myself.
Another thing about the iPod Shuffle my husband and I weren't pleased with is the fact there is no screen of any kind. You aren't able to see what MP3 you are listening to or skip to a song you want to listen to without having to listen to the first 5 seconds of each song to see what the song is. Does that make sense? I hope so.
Even his $30 MP3 by a less popular company had a display screen that merely printed the name of the song and the artist. I found that to be a feature that was very much needed.
The iPod, according to the instruction manual it comes with, comes into your home with the battery 80% charged, To charge the iPod you must plug the USB cable attached to the docking station, into your computer, then plop the iPod onto the docking station, using the same outlet that is used for the headphones. Typically it takes 2 hours to charge the battery from 0% to 80% battery life and 4 hours to charge from 0%-100% battery life.
While that is handy, being able to charge the iPod right from my computer, I'm baffled as to why the same outlet is used for the docking station that is used for the headphones. While it seems like a small gripe, I find it annoying that I have to unplug the headphones to charge the iPod, making it more likely to actually lose the headphones.
Also according to the instruction manual to tell if your iPod is running low on battery you need to recognize a series of yellow blinks from the status light on the iPod. This whole thing is confusing and I dont even want to get into it. My suggestion, if the light is yellow (blinking or not) dont bother trying to count how many blinks and how many seconds it blinks for, charge it!
My husband, otherwise, is satisfied with the iPod. The sound quality is great. The headphones provided with the product, produce a clear sound even when the volume is at it's highest. The headphones do not distort. Highest volume, is quite loud as well.
The iPod shuffle holds up to 240 MP3's which for the average person is more then enough. No issues there.
The look is nice and sleek. Easy enough to clip into a pocket and hide it.
It is VERY small then the average MP3 player so I wouldnt recommend it to anyone who has a habit of losing small items (or big items!) I imagine it would be quite easy to lose this iPod if in a pocket or purse but not in use.
Personally, I think this device was a bit overpriced for what it offers or rather what it doesnt offer.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
xcandacex
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Member: Candace
Location: BC, Canada
Reviews written: 13
Trusted by: 1 member
About Me:
I am a stay at home mother to 7 month old twins, Kaeden and Brooklyn.
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