Apple iPod Shuffle (2nd Generation): Great Design But Something's Missing
Written: Apr 14 '07 (Updated Apr 14 '07)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Size, ease of use, easy to get started for novices
Cons: Features are too simplistic and the runner/workout maven isn't the target audience
The Bottom Line: The second generation iPod shuffle improves on the first in size and usability, but doesn't enough in other areas.
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| roheblius's Full Review: Nokia N73 Smartphone |
When my first generation iPod shuffle started to give me problems, I decided that I couldn't work out without it and then rushed out and bought the new second generation iPod shuffle. Could I have worked out without a new iPod shuffle? Probably. Was it an excuse to buy the new one? Probably. It's not like the first iPod was broken. It eventually started working again. But Apple does have me in that way. I think they have most of us who have succumbed to the power of the iPod in that way. If my iPod shuffle is done for, I'll probably just buy a new one.
I really enjoyed the first generation iPod shuffle. I also had a sports case for it, which was a plastic casing that would make the shuffle indestructible. And the way I used it was to put it inside my shirt versus using an arm band because when you work out, you don't want anything around your arms. The sports case allowed me to free up my arms and it felt like there wasn't anything there except for the music.
If you could imagine that the first generation iPod shuffle was the size and shape of a stick of gum, the second generation iPod shuffle is that of a book of matches. It's simply the smallest and lightest weight gadget that I have. There are USB flash drives that aren't this small. Apple says that it's 1.62 inches long and about a half an ounce in weight, but I like the match book analogy better. From a size perspective, it's a tremendous gain for the second generation iPod shuffle. However, there is a negative to that. Because it's so small, it can get lost easily and I wouldn't suggest you putting it in your pocket because I can imagine many an iPod shuffle have ended up in the wash. But those are very small negative factors, and the size is definitely a plus for the second design of the iPod shuffle.
The face of the iPod is barely big enough to simply display a pause/play button, fast forward/rewind (song skip) and volume control buttons that sit around the edges of the pause/play. Think about it like a circle. The pause/play is the middle of the circle. Everything else surrounds it. The only negative to this display is that everything but the pause/play is really small you can fat finger the edges sometimes. There is a clip on the back of the unit for you to clip to a belt loop, a shirt collar (though I wouldn't recommend that look), or some sort of lanyard. What I don't like about the clip is that if you're running, it can come off. I imagine that in any other case, the clip is fine. On top of the iPod is a headphones jack and on the bottom are two buttons. The first is slide button that allows you to play your songs in order from your playlist, or via the shuffle mechanism. The second slide button is simply a power button. There's also a battery indicator light that will turn green if you are low on battery.
iTunes is the application in which you load up your iPod shuffle and I've never used a better music software before. iTunes is specifically designed for using the iPod so it works perfectly. Creating playlists for your shuffle is a piece of cake and I've been able to show complete novices how to get going in seconds. The iPod shuffle holds roughly 240 songs with it's 1 GB drive. When I first bought my iPod shuffle, I could get it in every color as long as it was silver. But now, they have other colors like lime green, SF Giants orange, a metallic blue, and of course, hot pink.
Included with the iPod shuffle is a small docking station that hooks up to your computer via USB. The jack on the dock looks exactly like your headphone jack and you simply sit the iPod shuffle on the jack. It situates the iPod shuffle on the dock and it not only downloads your music, but also recharges the battery.
This product is a five star product all the way based on how I've described it thus far. And it really is fantastic. But there are a couple issues I have with it. The first is that since Podcasts (internet radio shows) are more listened to now than ever, there needs to be a way to actually scroll through the music in a quicker way. As it is now, you hold down the fast forward button and it moves through the songs fairly slowly. Searching through a one hour Podcast can be a chore. And, because of the sensitivity of the small buttons, if you hold the button too softly, it will actually skip forward the entire song and you will have to start again. That has happened to me more times than I can count. I am actually not saying that there needs to be a screen. I don't think it's necessary on this product. But I do think there needs to be a more intuitive way to search through songs because of the fact that I listen to Podcasts at times. The second issue I have with this, and I'll admit it's a true nitpick, is that because of it's size, the only place I can really put the iPod shuffle when I'm working out is in my pocket. I can't clip it on anything without belt loops and if I'm not wearing shorts or workout pants with pockets, I'm kind of screwed. The clip isn't strong enough to simply clip to your shirt, especially if running. And then it flops around and becomes very annoying. I enjoy the original iPod shuffle design of wearing the unit around my neck because at least, it's a supportive way to hold the iPod shuffle without having to clip it or put it anywhere. Again, that's a nitpick and I wouldn't not buy it specifically for that reason.
The second generation iPod shuffle definitely improved from a size and usability standpoint. But when the third iteration of this product comes out, they are going to have to make searching through your songs more intuitive and possibly do something to help those who only use theirs for working out purposes. But for some reason, they have chosen the iPod Nano for that, which only makes sense because it has a screen. I'd love for the iPod shuffle to also mirror as a pedometer. I think it would be a much better workout buddy than the Nano, but we'll just have to wait until next year.
Recommended:
Yes
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roheblius
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Member: Garrett M. Gonzales
Location: Gilroy, CA
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