Apple iPod Shuffle 2nd Generation Orange (1 GB) MP3 Player

When I first started hearing about iPods and MP3s, I had no real idea what they were. Sure, there were the commercials for them but all I really noticed was a bunch of people dancing around with ear plugs on which didn't give me a good idea of what an iPod actually was. So I never realized that an iPod shuffle was sort of a small personal CD/tape player but without the CD or the tape and really really small. In fact, the only two things that I DID know about an iPod for sure was that number one, I didn't need one AT ALL and number two, they are ridiculously expensive.

Then something wonderful happened, I won an orange Apple iPod Shuffle in an online contest! I received it in the mail a couple of months after I won it.

So now I have to admit my complete ignorance of just how handy having an iPod Shuffle can be in your life. I mean, for one thing, they are astonishingly TINY! This particular Apple iPod Shuffle (I admit I'm not familiar with any other type) is only a smidgen over an inch and a half wide and half an inch high. In my inexperience, the first time I saw it and took it out of the box, I thought it was a joke. How could something so tiny play music when it's not even as big as a matchbox? But right there on the side of the box it came in, it says 1 GB, 240 songs, PC + Mac. Reading the instructions that came with the thing didn't help me at all because I didn't understand them. They were too short and didn't seem to explain anything and what's an iTune anyway?

As you may have guessed by now, I am not savvy when it comes to technology. My iPod Shuffle may as well have come from the moon for all I understood what to do with it. I mean, why weren't there songs already on it and why didn't it pick up radio waves or whatever they were so you could listen to music? It came with some nice headphones too but, hey, no sounds came out of it when it was turned on.

Then I had the idea (with the help of the instructions) that I had to plug the iPod Shuffle into the white base that came with it and plug the cord into the USB port on my computer. THAT was going to charge the iPod's battery and THEN I was to go to the iTunes website so I could, I think, download music. I am not joking when I say that the instructions included with the iPod Shuffle were lacking in information for someone who knows NOTHING AT ALL about iPods.

AND then the other problem I had is that nothing happened when I plugged my new orange iPod Shuffle into my computer. I was under the impression that I would somehow instantly be connected to the iTunes website, then have to download some iTunes information so that I could put songs that I liked on my iPod. Nothing happened AT ALL. Oh sure, the battery charged and the little itty bitty blinking light on the iPod Shuffle went blinky blinky blinky over and over but NO iTunes anything. So, still no music on my little cute orange Apple iPod Shuffle.

After a couple of hours, I handed the thing over to my adult daughter in pure frustration and told her it was no good and I hated it. That's when she took it and added songs that I liked onto it for me with NO problems whatsoever. Then she gave it back to me and told me she had put songs on it for me to listen to.

And that's when I had my first listen in on an iPod Shuffle and I fell in love. The sound quality is great. I am completely amazed at how something so tiny can play such pure, clear music. Or it plays the song as good as the copy of the song is that you put on it. Once in a while a song doesn't sound quite right but it's because the quality of the original song was inferior.

And now that I've had an iPod for awhile, I hope I always have one. I like to use it when I'm on my computer in the evenings and I don't bother my family while they are sleeping. I use it sometimes during the day when I'm sitting with the kids (my grandsons) and I can't face one more episode of Dora the Explorer or Spongebob Squarepants. LOL. My absolute favorite use for my iPod Shuffle is at the doctor's office when I'm waiting my turn. My usual wait at the doctor can take anywhere between one to three hours so I have learned to take a "doctor bag" with me to keep me occupied. And my iPod is a perfect addition to that "doctor bag."

I definitely recommend this particular orange Apple iPod Shuffle because it is so convenient, it is small, it holds up to 240 songs (plenty for me!), the battery lasts up to twelve hours before it needs to be re-charged and it has a clip so you can attach it to your collar or shirt or anywhere you want. It's a nice strong little clip too that holds on very securely so no worries about it falling off. The Apple iPod Shuffle seems to be made well too. It's made of orange metal and the button on the side is white plastic so I hope it lasts me a long time. Oh, plus the orange color is attractive but if orange is not for you, it does come in other colors as well.