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Apple iPod Shuffle
Price: £55 inc VAT

Features
Performance
Ease of use
Value for money
Overall

Reviewed By: Andy Shaw

This review updated: 16/02/2007
Featured in magazine:
Issue 152
Manufacturer Contacts:
Supplier: Apple
Tel: 0800 039 1010
Web Address: www.apple.com/uk


If your loved ones failed to get you the iPod you requested for Christmas, there's no need to despair. Apple's smallest player, the Shuffle, is cheap enough for even the lightest of post-Christmas wallets, and is so dinky they had to put a clip on it so you don't lose it in your pocket.

Features
The main thing that's changed since the last version of the Shuffle is its shape. The previous model made great shakes about how it was smaller than a packet of chewing gum, but this model has shrunk further still. It's more like the size of a single stick of Bazooka Joe (remember that?) or a small book of matches. It's probably just about doubled in size by the inclusion of a simple clip on the back, which handily means you can hook it over, rather that put it in, a pocket. The change in size also means you get a simple docking station that plugs into a USB port on your computer, rather than plugging in the device itself.

The rest remains very similar to the previous generation: it's got 1GB of memory, which is enough space to hold around 240 tracks; it's charged by docking it to your computer; and there's no screen.

Performance
The lack of a screen is the major hurdle for most people, but the Shuffle is a different proposition to most MP3 players. You can use it one of two ways – either stuff it full of your favourite tracks and have it on a randomly ever-changing selection, or just put on the things you want to listen to that day, in order, and listen to them. It's not about carrying your music collection around with you – if that's really what you're after, spend more money on a different player. The headphones seem to be better quality than last time too, which is a definite bonus.

Ease of use
The Shuffle user manual is so simple it's almost not worth having – just download iTunes if you don't already have it, plug everything into a USB port, choose the tracks you want (or fill it automatically) and press Play. If you want to organise the files a bit, do it in an iTunes playlist in advance then copy the playlist across. Or fill it with your favourite tracks from iTunes's My Top Rated playlist. If it was to get any easier it would probably have to grow hands so it could press its own buttons.

Value for money
£55 doesn't sound like a lot of money, and it isn't. But if you're not fussed about the Apple branding you could get a 1GB MP3 player for less than this, and it would probably have a screen so you could select the tracks you wanted to listen to. It would almost certainly not be as simple to use however, and it wouldn't work with iTunes. Apple is clearly adding a premium to its iPod branding but, well, why shouldn't it? It's a smart design, it's incredibly easy to use, it's a little bit different and it's bound to impress with its diminutive proportions.

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