The iPod Shuffle: Random Play is Just More Fun

For such a tiny gadget, the iPod Shuffle from Apple packs a lot of fun. The iPod Shuffle is the minimalist’s dream, with a sleek and slim white shell, a play/pause button and four-way rocker ring on the front and nothing but a power switch and battery check button on the back. The 0.8 ounce iPod Shuffle I purchased contains 512 MB of memory for hundreds of songs. Hit the play button and the player goes to work, surprising the listener who has no idea which song will come on next.

The iPod Shuffle is the perfect MP3 Player for Gen Xers who hated carrying around that bulky Walkman and hated even more that heavy Discman that skipped all the time. The iPod Shuffle can be tucked into just about any pocket and is as light as a feather. Gen Xers who were bored with listening to the same dozen songs over and over again in the same order need not fear the same fate with the iPod Shuffle. The iPod Shuffle can hold the tunes of dozens of discs and will play the songs in any order it pleases, keeping you as surprised as any radio listener without the accompanying talk, commercials and bad tunes.

Not only does the iPod Shuffle boast a great random-play design, it also makes it as a terrific music player. Better bass than most players I’ve tried and less harmonic distortion. It can get loud, so parents should advise their children not to blast their iPod Shuffle and occasionally check their children’s listening levels.

I found the iPod Shuffle relatively easy to load, and I’m no computer genius. Allow yourself some time to get acquainted with the controls. You’ll have to charge it prior to listening, so if you bought for a specific upcoming road trip, don’t wait to load it until the night before.

Not seeing what track is playing and not knowing what song is next may take some getting used to if you’re new to the Shuffle design, but I prefer it. You can always skip to the next song, play the same song over again, or go to the previous song, but if you’re searching for a specific tune and you’ve uploaded dozens or hundreds of songs, you may become frustrated.

I personally prefer having no display. I’ll gladly sacrifice the display to carry around such a lightweight and sleek design. But if you’ve programmed various types of music, let’s say everything from Garth Brooks to Rob Zombie, you may be in store for a wild ride.

I paid 99 bucks for the iPod Shuffle but have since seen it for less. Considering I once spent three hundred bucks for a state of the art Walkman to listen to my Motley Crue cassettes, I think the iPod is a real sweet deal.