A while ago, Apple refreshed its iPod shuffle line by adding a 2GB option and cutting the prices. At 55€ (49$) for the 1 GB model, Shuffle is quite cheap. Yes, you can still get a 1 GB USB memory stick for one tenth of that price, but it won’t play music and isn’t an iPod. For some people, the latter might actually be more important than the first.

I had been looking at the Shuffle for some time already, so as soon as the news of the 79€ 2GB model arrived, I finally decided to order one – having lived just fine without any player. I thought it would make a nice addition to my running gear. I’ve been using it for couple of weeks now and I’m quite pleased with it. One thing about the iPod shuffle is that it is really small. Surprisingly small.

There are many advantages, not only the price, why one might choose an iPod shuffle. The 5 reasons to like and to dislike it still are valid. The thing is, I don’t agree that the Shuffle can be improved in any way. Adding a screen would make it a nano, the device’s identity is that it’s limited – something many people could argue is true for most Apple’s products.

As Jeremy and others have pointed out, the iconic white Apple headphones do not suit the task many people (like me) by it for – running. For most other tasks they are good enough. Anyway, one of the major advantages of iPod shuffle – and the ultimate reason I chose it – is that you can actually use it as it is and you do not need a cover to shield any screens from scratches or to attach to it your clothing. The other good thing is that you can fully use the shuffle even without seeing the device. Other people might wonder why keep touching my chest when I use it through my jacket. The iPod shuffle is a “eyes-free” device. For me, this is what’s so insanely great about this tiny MP3 player it would otherwise would be.

This is why the other specs of shuffle are, to me, irrelevant. Anyway, in my real-world testing, the 2 GB-model holds 1,9GB of music, which for me seems to be something like 350-400 songs and 24-30 hours. (My music library has MP3s and AACs between 128 and 192 kbps, which I think is quite normal.)

While iTunes has the magical AutoFill-feature, which will fill my shuffle with music, I would love to be able to modify the parameters even further. Now, this could be easily done by using a Smart playlist, if one could do more complex search criteria. Now I’d have to do multiple Smart playlists to get the playlist I’m after. The thing is, choosing what goes into your Shuffle is really the crucial point.

One solution is to use something like Tangerine, which can actually make you a playlist for your workout automagically. Otherwise, most of the time, you’ll find yourself using your iPod with shuffle on. Tangerine calculates and uses the BPM (beats per minute) information of your songs to make up surprisingly good playlists for different kinds of workout. This is really good, because simple random playlist will play songs with wildly different tempos, which can be quite distracting when trying to foucs on a workout or when running.

Of course, iPod shuffle isn’t the only alternative. I also had the option to just buy handsfree headphones for my SonyEricsson K610i (and a real MS micro-memory card to replace the tiny 32MB one that was bundled). Price-wise, this would’ve cost me 30€ for the headphones and 20€ for a 2GB MS micro card. Add the frustration from the bad UI for music playing and the hassle of syncing music over Bluetooth (or by buying a data cable at 20€) and I’ve would’ve ended with a not-an-iPod-nano-but-almost at the price of an iPod shuffle without any of the advantages. (Naturally, for some, there’s of course the iPhone.)

Now, if TeliaSonera, my mobile operator, didn’t suck so much, I actually should have the headphones, lowering that cost. Also, most new high-end phones come with real (1-4 GB) memory cards and headphones included. Anyway, no mobile phone comes with the user experience iPod shuffle or any iPod offers.

Even though it is possible to use the Shuffle as a kind of USB memory stick to store files, this is quite limited, because you need the special headphone-to-USB-adapter. True, the other iPods need an adapter too, but you’re more likely to find one of those around than the Shuffle’s adapter. With USB memory stick prices where they are, I don’t see this as an disadvantage. The iPod Shuffle is stripped to the basics, so adding something superficial like USB port would seem really odd.

Otherwise the Shuffle’s buttons are intuitive and do what you expect, but I was at loss when first trying to re-randomize the playlist, trying frantically to do it my pressing Previous Track-button multiple times. All I remembered that some button was to be pressed three times in quick succession. In fact, it is the Play/Pause-button (which, if in playlist-mode, starts the playlist from beginning).

The reason why you might see yourself re-randomizing the playlist quite often is that with 2GB capacity, you might not rotate the files as often as you recharge. The surprise is that when the iPod shuffle syncs with iTunes, it resets your playlist position to the beginning so when you start to listen again, you find yourself listening to the same songs all-over again unless you press the Play-button thrice.

I have for a while wondered how iPod’s sales can continue to grow, even though everyone seems to own one. Then I did a reality-check that I myself haven’t had a music player since a crappy MiniDisc-player. Another point is that in my opinion, iPod shuffle isn’t a “gateway” product, I actually have no need for the more full-featured players. I don’t believe I’m alone with my simple need to have a simple music player that just does just that.

The only thing I can’t understand is why the Shuffle doesn’t have Nike+ integrated.

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