Apple iPod Shuffle 2nd Generation Orange (1 GB) MP3 Player
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- Number of Songs: 250
- Usage: Music
- Interface: USB 2.0
- Main Storage Type: Built-in Memory
- Storage Capacity: 1 GB
![Apple iPod shuffle 2 GB Bright Green (2nd Generation) [Previous Model]](http://di103.shoppingshadow.com/images/di/38/4f/48/63557a6d302d4f48464d376275344a50697377-80x80-0-0.jpg?p=AwKATy2kwL&a=1&c=1&l=8001956&t=05%2F28%2F12%2004%3A21%3A27%20PM&r=3&d=159.99&rt=mr "Apple iPod shuffle 2 GB Bright Green (2nd Generation) [Previous Model]")
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A great no frills mp3 player that is the epitome of portability
Pros
Small, simple, sounds good, minimalistic interface well implemented, perfect for the gym!
Cons
Dock is weird, not so easy to get a battery status, pricey for only 1GB
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
I got it for its simplicity & portability. Others might want it for fashion. It's sounds great too. Just don't expect any frills or bang for the buck.
When I first saw the 1st gen shuffle, I thought to myself, "Why would anyone want such a basic MP3 player? It doesn't have a display, and play-wise all you can do it go forward or backwards through ALL the songs, you can't even group them into playlists!"
After I got myself a full sized iPod, I brought it to the gym and had this clunky arm band holding it and saw other people with shuffles, with tiny little armbands or clips. That's when I realized the value of a shuffle..... it's just CONVENIENT!
Well, I gritted my teeth and lived with the bigger iPod for a while until my wife purchased a 2nd gen shuffle. Like others have stated in numerous reviews, DANG IT IS SMALL! The controls are roughly the size of a quarter and the whole package isn't much bigger. And best of all, you don't even need a case for it, it just clips on, an even bigger reason to get it for going to the gym. Next day, I went out and got one for myself!
Ok, so it's obvious I got it for the convenience factor (going to the gym), but what else does it offer? Well not much more since it's so simple. I'm not gonna bore you with technical specifications since they can be found anywhere, but here are 4 things about the 2nd gen shuffle that really stood out to me.
1) Sound quality is great. I didn't expect much from such a small device in terms of sound quality, but for something this small, it is awesome. And not only does it sound good, it is LOUD. You can even connect it to a separate amplifier and it provides plenty of signal output at maximum volume, which more than I can say for other mp3 players I've used in the past.
2) Great use of the minimal real estate. While it only has 5 buttons and 2 switches and 1 LED (actually 2 LEDs, but they show the same thing) you can do all sorts of stuff with it. The feature I was most impressed with was the LOCK feature. Press and hold play/pause to lock it player, and do it again to unlock. But how can you tell if it's locked? The LED will blink orange when you press a button while locked and green if unlock. So simple but yet so functional.
3) Battery life is very good. I goto the gym 3 or 4 times a week and I only have to charge it once a week at most, sometimes I get almost 2 weeks if i don't use it outside of the gym.
4) Transfer of songs is very fast with USB2.0. I didn't get any exact numbers, but the first transfer I did consisted of about 40 songs and it took less than a minute to complete. It still boggles my mind when I think of all the electronics packed into the small thing.
Ok, with the good, comes the bad. But as before, there aren't many bad points since the thing is so simple!
1) The USB socket on it is weird. The USB socket on the shuffle used for charging is the same socket you use to plug in your headphones. This poses 2 problems, a) you can't charge it while playing, and b) the dock has a long headphone plug sticking out of it which can easily break! I can understand why they needed to do this because there is so little real estate, but a separate mini USB socket would have been better. Or alternatively, they didn't have to make syncing cable into a dock form, it probably would have been better as a plain cable.
2) You have to turn off and on the iPod to check battery status. This is because when you flip on the on switch, the LEDs blink to show you the battery status. Green=good, Orange=low, Red=Need to charge! One saving factor about this is that if you turn if off and on fast enough, it will not interrupt the song playing.
3) It doesn't come with a wall charger, you are forced to charge it via the USB on your computer. Luckily, I have a USB to wall adapter from my full sized iPod, this allows me to charge it with a wall socket and not have to turn on my computer to charge it.
4) Forces you to download iTunes to use it. This probably won't be an issue with most people with a high speed internet connection, but might be very daunting for beginners, especially those without high speed internet.
In conclusion, this iPod has all the simple qualities of its predecessor. It's absolutely perfect for those of you who want a simple player which is ultra portable, especially gym-goers! It won't hurt for those of you who are into fashion either with the 5 different colors that are available. And it produces very good sound. Honestly though, $80 for 1GB of music is not that great of a deal. If this is your 1st or only mp3 player, you might want to consider something else unless you are certain you will only going be taking this thing on the go. I justified my purchase because I already have a full size iPod for everyday purposes and I wanted a replacement for when I goto the gym. And another deciding factor was that my music library is already organized by iTunes.
After I got myself a full sized iPod, I brought it to the gym and had this clunky arm band holding it and saw other people with shuffles, with tiny little armbands or clips. That's when I realized the value of a shuffle..... it's just CONVENIENT!
Well, I gritted my teeth and lived with the bigger iPod for a while until my wife purchased a 2nd gen shuffle. Like others have stated in numerous reviews, DANG IT IS SMALL! The controls are roughly the size of a quarter and the whole package isn't much bigger. And best of all, you don't even need a case for it, it just clips on, an even bigger reason to get it for going to the gym. Next day, I went out and got one for myself!
Ok, so it's obvious I got it for the convenience factor (going to the gym), but what else does it offer? Well not much more since it's so simple. I'm not gonna bore you with technical specifications since they can be found anywhere, but here are 4 things about the 2nd gen shuffle that really stood out to me.
1) Sound quality is great. I didn't expect much from such a small device in terms of sound quality, but for something this small, it is awesome. And not only does it sound good, it is LOUD. You can even connect it to a separate amplifier and it provides plenty of signal output at maximum volume, which more than I can say for other mp3 players I've used in the past.
2) Great use of the minimal real estate. While it only has 5 buttons and 2 switches and 1 LED (actually 2 LEDs, but they show the same thing) you can do all sorts of stuff with it. The feature I was most impressed with was the LOCK feature. Press and hold play/pause to lock it player, and do it again to unlock. But how can you tell if it's locked? The LED will blink orange when you press a button while locked and green if unlock. So simple but yet so functional.
3) Battery life is very good. I goto the gym 3 or 4 times a week and I only have to charge it once a week at most, sometimes I get almost 2 weeks if i don't use it outside of the gym.
4) Transfer of songs is very fast with USB2.0. I didn't get any exact numbers, but the first transfer I did consisted of about 40 songs and it took less than a minute to complete. It still boggles my mind when I think of all the electronics packed into the small thing.
Ok, with the good, comes the bad. But as before, there aren't many bad points since the thing is so simple!
1) The USB socket on it is weird. The USB socket on the shuffle used for charging is the same socket you use to plug in your headphones. This poses 2 problems, a) you can't charge it while playing, and b) the dock has a long headphone plug sticking out of it which can easily break! I can understand why they needed to do this because there is so little real estate, but a separate mini USB socket would have been better. Or alternatively, they didn't have to make syncing cable into a dock form, it probably would have been better as a plain cable.
2) You have to turn off and on the iPod to check battery status. This is because when you flip on the on switch, the LEDs blink to show you the battery status. Green=good, Orange=low, Red=Need to charge! One saving factor about this is that if you turn if off and on fast enough, it will not interrupt the song playing.
3) It doesn't come with a wall charger, you are forced to charge it via the USB on your computer. Luckily, I have a USB to wall adapter from my full sized iPod, this allows me to charge it with a wall socket and not have to turn on my computer to charge it.
4) Forces you to download iTunes to use it. This probably won't be an issue with most people with a high speed internet connection, but might be very daunting for beginners, especially those without high speed internet.
In conclusion, this iPod has all the simple qualities of its predecessor. It's absolutely perfect for those of you who want a simple player which is ultra portable, especially gym-goers! It won't hurt for those of you who are into fashion either with the 5 different colors that are available. And it produces very good sound. Honestly though, $80 for 1GB of music is not that great of a deal. If this is your 1st or only mp3 player, you might want to consider something else unless you are certain you will only going be taking this thing on the go. I justified my purchase because I already have a full size iPod for everyday purposes and I wanted a replacement for when I goto the gym. And another deciding factor was that my music library is already organized by iTunes.
