Ipod Shuffle 3 gen

As most or all of you know by now that Apple has released the 3rd generation ipod shuffle. What is a shuffle you may ask? First off it is Apple's low end ipod that doesn't include a screen just controls. The biggest draw in my opinion was the fact that you could add any songs you wanted into the shuffle or you could have itunes randomly put songs on the shuffle. I like the 2nd option because who wants to hear the same old songs over and over again. With a large library of songs sometimes it is hard to listen to all your songs. This way, you can get a random pick of your songs and if you don't like them you can skip them.

Onto the new ipod shuffle. It is small by the pictures around the net. Compared to the first and second generation it is smaller than both but it still retains the clip of the 2nd gen shuffle. You will notice however, there are no buttons to be found on the shuffle except for the slider/button that either turns the shuffle on and switches between random songs or playing the songs down the line of the play list. To change the volume, skip back/forth or play / pause the song, all those controls are built into the headphones that come with the ipod. There have been lots of discussions about the build of this shuffle.

Maybe Apple was looking to go minimalistic with the no button approach. If that was their intent, congrats. You have made a very simple inexpensive ipod the looks like a piece of gum. The downside about the controls on the headphones is the controls on the headphones. I have used the ear buds that come with the ipod. That is not a big deal to me. However, most people dread using the included buds and they prefer their own headphones. Yet if they plug in their headphones it will not work with this shuffle. There is an authentication chip in the ear buds that allows the ipod to play with the buds. So, if you wanted to use your own headset you are SOL.  You will have to either use the ones provided by Apple or wait and purchase 3rd part ear buds that will cost as much or even more than the shuffle itself.

There is another feature that Apple included in the new shuffle. When you press a button on the ear buds a voice will talk to you saying the name of the song, artist and or play list. You will have to load this software from itunes and itunes will create the voice and insert it into the shuffle. A good idea, but I usually don't edit my play list names, so it will be interesting to see how the voice handles my list.

To buy or not to buy.

For me, if I had $79 to play with, I would actually buy this shuffle. Why? Because I collect ipods. I like new shiny toys and I am a sucker that way. I use my 3rd gen ipod in the bathroom connected to a radio. I play movies and games on my itouch2. I'll listen to my music on my 2nd gen nano. I'll work out, if i get that started again, with my 2nd gen shuffle. And my 1st gen touch sits on my shelf collecting dust. I really do not want to pay $10 to upgrade the OS so that it can use the App Store. But never say never. BTW,  this is how frivolous I am. I had the first gen itouch, and the only reason why I got the 2nd gen itouch was because of the external speakers. I really wanted an iPhone, and part of me still does. However, with the external speakers this is as close as I can get to having an iPhone.

Ipod Shuffle 3gen

Comes in Silver or Black.
4GB of Storage.
Comes with ear buds and usb cable.