I have pretty much always had an iPod, in fact I’ve had the same one for 8-9 years and touch wood, it’s still going strong. I like the way the 30GB iPod video works with real buttons, none of this touch screen nonsense, so the iPod shuffle is like an old friend. Ok so it doesn’t have a screen but it has the familiar touch wheel with that reassuring click of its buttons.
Chantele was recently gifted an iPod Shuffle by Argos at the South Wales Bloggers Tea Party, so I thought I would have a test of it and give you guys an honest iPod Shuffle review, with what I think are the pro’s and cons of this tiny portable music device.
Adding music to it is a doddle since I already have playlists and albums loaded into iTunes so there’s no fuss like when you buy into a new system. It comes with the usb cable but for me it’s way to short. I use an imac so it’s left dangling at the back of my screen as opposed to resting on my desk but it’s all in aid of smaller packaging. With the age of the Apple lightning connector it’s a wonder why they haven’t added it to the shuffle so you can use your existing chargers and docks, or even if they just included a longer thinner cable it would be handy.
A few minutes after plunging it, I’m ready to rock. I’m with my trusty bose headphones and I’m away. The sound is great, typical what you expect from an apple device. even with over ear headphones the volume is more than enough for the average listener, but isn’t going to make your eardrums tremble. Thankfully I’ve got past the need deafen myself so I’m more than happy.
There are two play modes to choose from, shuffle is the first obvious one, and the second advances through the songs in order. If your stuck on what song you are listening to, tap the button on top and it talks to you and tells you what the song is in a siri esque voice over. Pretty clever.
The big benefit of the shuffle of course is its size. If I’m wearing shorts I can just clip it on my waist band rather than have full pockets bouncing around like carrying my full size iPod. One party trick I’ve mastered with the shuffle is the iPod connects direct into the headphone jack which usually has a detachable extension (bose design) so I’ve made my own wireless iPod headphones!
The only negative I can really come up with for the iPod shuffle, is its memory size. It’s “only” 2gb, which is still enough to store more than 500 songs, but memory is so cheap these days, and you can fit a 64gb memory chip into a flash drive the size of a babies thumb nail. Personally, I welcome the fact that I have to refresh my music every now and again, I’ve gotten lazy and left a lot of albums on my larger iPod or years, flicking back and through the same old albums. This might just give me the push I need to add something new, or something I’ve not listened to in a long time.
The shuffle is designed to be fun, easy to use and still maintain the apple product quality and design we have become accustom to. I think it hits the nail on the head for a fuss and fancy free portable music player.
So there you go, my honest iPod Shuffle review! I’m a big fan! What are your opinions on the device, do you rather this small size or one of the large Apple iPod alternatives?
(Image credit: Apple and Argos)
(Disclaimer: We were gifted the item as part of an event goody bag, we were not required to review the item but felt it would be an interesting post for our readers, all opinions are 100% our own and not influenced by the company)
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