Apple iPod Shuffle review

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Verdict:

The iPod shuffle looks and sounds good, and comes at a reasonable price. The necessity of using iTunes may put some off, but otherwise this is a great choice. It doesn't have the battery life of Alba's player, but it is a lot prettier.

Review Date: 19 Sep 2007

Price when reviewed: £46

Buy it now for: £74
(see more store prices)

Supplier: http://www.microdirect.co.uk

Our Rating 4 stars out of 5

User Rating

The iPod Shuffle is the smallest and least expensive of Apple's range of MP3 players. However, it has better audio quality than its larger siblings, with clear sound and plenty of bass and treble.

Simplicity is a large part of the Shuffle's appeal. It has two play modes: random and sequential. Both repeat until you switch the player off. You can skip tracks and change the volume, but there are no other controls.

You have to download iTunes before you can transfer music to the Shuffle. It has a modest 1GB capacity, but this is the smallest player of the group. A sturdy clip on its tough metal shell grips firmly on to clothing.

Unlike many basic MP3 players with a shuffle function, the Shuffle allows you to return to a previously played track, rather than forgetting what it has played. It played for more than 16 hours in our battery life test. This is longer than any of the other small rechargeable players, but still some way off the 25 hours that Alba's player achieved.

A lot of attention to detail has gone into the design. For example, the compact docking station plugs directly into the headphone socket, and the player automatically pauses itself when the headphones are unplugged. It's just a pity that the standard iPod headphones don't do justice to the quality of the Shuffle's sound.

Author: Kat Orphanides

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User Reviews

Independent customer reviews from Reevoo.com

Apple MA949ZT/A scored:
9.0 out of 10

The 2 most helpful reviews based on 339 reviews:

Confirmed purchaser

Good Points: Incredibly portable little mp3 player - ideal for taking to the beach, walking the dog, gym use etc. Small and light + not too expensive so great for taking places where it might get lost / stolen (lets face it, you'd be very unhappy if your iPod touch got nicked!)
Bad Points: Can't think of any! OK, would be nice to have playlists / screen but this isn't really feasible with such a tiny device.

Confirmed purchase on 02 Nov 2008

Confirmed purchaser

Good Points: Small and very easy to use, good sound reproduction for size and is unobtrusive under clothing when worn to the gym or jogging.
Bad Points: Can not programe music play back other than shuffle. I would rather select the tracks I wish to hear rather than just listening to randomly selected tracks from the list.

Confirmed purchase on 24 Oct 2008

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