Small Talk
With the latest version of their affordable iPod shuffle, Apple has claimed the title of "the world's smallest music player," which I believe without question. Gauging the size just from the photos is tricky: I had guessed that it was in the realm of a stick of gum, but it's actually more akin to a piece of Dentyne than Juicy Fruit. It's smaller even than any of the thumb drives I routinely use for shuttling files between computers, and if I leave it dangling from the end of the headphone cord (absolutely not recommended by anyone, although it holds onto the plug rather securely) I'd hardly know it was there. Of course it has a spring-loaded clip, so you can attach it to a belt loop, shirt pocket, etc.
What has set all shuffles apart from other iPods is their minimalist design, now in a striking matte finish aluminum enclosure with a shiny clip. At press time, there was a dearth of cases and other accessories available, probably because they are unnecessary, and would defeat the esthetic. Most notably, the shuffle lacks a display, any readout of song titles or other info that most modern players provide. Before the first shuffle arrived on the scene, I'd used another manufacturer's display-less MP3 player and to be honest I missed the LCD because I like to preview what's coming up, double check what's playing, etc. Apple smartly celebrated the inherent entropy, even in the product name. What's on next? Who knows? Just wait and listen, it's fun!
Doing More… with Less
But while the two prior models had a few essential controls on the unit itself, the current edition offers just a three-position stainless steel stud on the top edge, to dictate Repeat play and Shuffle (each with a distinctive audio tone as we switch) as well as a dedicated Off position. An LED dot also lights up to indicate syncing progress and battery charge status. The secret to operating this shuffle resides within the headphones, more specifically a tiny bar on the right strand. This clickable strip is necessary to adjust volume, forward and reverse skip between tracks as well as pause. It also enables VoiceOver, which recites necessary data with which we can then navigate the contents of our shuffle in new ways. They're calling it "The first music player that talks to you," which begs the question, Have they forgotten their own fourth-generation nano, which introduced a voice that speaks all of the menus for us?
The first time I fired up the shuffle (it arrives with a bit of juice), a friendly voice asked me to "Please use iTunes to synch music to this iPod." I resisted the urge to plug it in directly to a USB port, like one of those aforementioned thumb drives (or a "pinkie drive," more accurately?), although we can drag and drop data files onto it if we so choose. We need the little USB dongle that connects at the shuffle's multifunction headphone jack, which also handles the charging, data transfer and control. (Due to the limited real estate, this iPod does not offer the ubiquitous proprietary 30-pin connector port.)
During initial setup on its host computer, we are prompted to download and install the 15-megabyte VoiceOver Kit. The voice we hear will vary somewhat, depending upon our computer of choice: If we sync with a PC, or with a Mac running OS X Tiger, we'll hear the standard English vox machina, now more U.S.S. Enterprise-D than the nano's Stephen Hawking. OS X Leopard users get Leopard's built-in English voice. VoiceOver supports 14 different languages in all, which is particularly handy for recognizing foreign-language artists/songs via its "intelligent algorithms," going so far as to apply the proper inflection.
This linguistic trick is a remarkable boon to Enrique Iglesias and his worldly ilk, but the seemingly whitebread "The Cup of Life" by Ricky Martin leads to a painfully awkward accent on the subsequent La Copa de la Vida, reminding me of my first day of fourth-grade Spanish class. And why does The Voice read "NatashaBedingfield" as a single word? There are in fact quite a few bizarre mispronunciations and worse, some purchased iTunes tracks which should be packing full metadata could not be identified at all. But since this is the first iteration of VoiceOver, and noting Apple's eagerness to constantly improve their software, we should probably cut it some slack.
Tell Me What I Want to Hear
Again, the new shuffle actually requires those fancy, redesigned headphones if we want to do anything more than listen in standard Shuffle or Repeat modes. A basic pair with the on-cord buttons is included, and any replacement pair will need to offer those compatible controls. Apple was kind enough to send along their step-up In-Ear Headphones with Remote and Mic which at only 79 clams are their top-of-the-line first-party 'phones. They're fully compatible with the shuffle and more comfortable than the included earbuds thanks to interchangeable silicone tips. The sound quality is vastly superior as well, as they stick out further from the ear than the standard 'buds (although not so much as the Monster Beats Tour By Dr. Dre In-Ear Headphones), this depth allowing for more elaborate drivers that can reproduce sound more realistically. These optional In-Ear headphones also integrate a teensy microphone which works with both the iPhone as well as voice-recording iPods such as the 4th-gen nano and 2nd-gen touch.
Using the wired remote control is not something we can just do straight off without reading the instructions, or a helpful review such as this. The little bar packs a lot of functions--some unexpected--into a very tight space: Click the center button once for Play/Pause, twice to Skip forward, three times to Back Skip. We can now move between multiple playlists for the first time, by pressing and holding the same button until we hear a tone, then listening for the spoken name of each list and clicking again to select it. Volume at least is a simple dedicated "+" or "-" button on the ends. For info on the current song, press and hold the center button briefly, and we can then double-click to hear the artist/title of the next track before it plays.
So, now that we have the gear and the know-how, we need to develop the right touch. We must for example hit the main button dead-center or we'll just be raising or lowering the volume instead of manipulating tracks. I'm left-handed so I have to do the reach-across, and even then my aged thumb and forefinger can grow weary after about a dozen commands in a row. I'm thinking this would be great for joggers and the like, adding virtually no weight and requiring minimal interaction if we've created an appropriate assortment of ready playlists. We cannot however scan forward/back within tracks, so when I've had too much cough syrup and I just want to hear the soliloquy in the middle of "I've Never Been to Me," I'm out of luck. And for better or worse, the shuffle does not contain an accelerometer/motion sensor (unlikely at this entry-level price point, and how much space would it require...?), so it does not offer the "Shake to Shuffle" feature, somewhat ironically, which is currently still exclusive to the nano.
Turn-Ons:
Turn-Offs:
Final Thoughts
Surely the additional effort on our part is the tradeoff for the cleaner, ultra-sleek hardware, shrunk down to damned-near-insane size and weight, at the expense of almost all on-unit buttons. This new shuffle does double the capacity of the previous generation for only $10 more, and so the value--and new level of control--make it worth the fancy fingerwork.
Available on Amazon.com:
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Manufacturer's Specifications
What's in the Box?
Manufacturer's Contact Information
Apple
1 Infinite Loop
Cupertino, CA 95014
phone: (800) MY-APPLE
On the Web at: store.apple.com
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