I had to, I just had to. Sure I have a 60 GB iPod photo, but I had to get a Shuffle. This iPod shuffle is a 2-in-1. I can now get rid of my aging USB thumb drive, and have a super small iPod with me at all times.
This thing is tiny. You can fit it inside the coin pocket of a pair of jeans.
I am fairly happy with the iTunes 4.7.1 "Autofill" feature, it works OK. I have created a smart playlist to use with Autofill which I have found works better. But Autofill is a great feature, and nice addition to iTunes.
I do not understand why they made the design decision to put the laniard on the cap and not the main part of the iPod shuffle. I see this all too often on other USB thumb drives. If the Shuffle comes off of my neck I would rather have the iPod hanging around my neck in the long run (no pun intended) and not just the cap. Bad design if you ask me.
To Apple's credit, the cap does fit securely on the Shuffle. It fits better then the few USB thumb drives I have used, and it fits and stays on a lot better then my current thumb drive. It is reassuring to feel the cap "snap" onto the Shuffle.
My only other complaint with the iPod shuffle is the speed of USB 2 on the Mac. It is slow! USB 2 on Windows is pretty peppy. But putting *only* 512MB of music on my iPod, and its like watching grass grow. I am comparing of course the iPod photo firewire 400, and this USB 2 Shuffle, which of course has a transfer rate of 480Mbits/second. That theoretical might be closest under Windows, it is far from that on a Mac.
But what the heck. This thing cost me less then my prior 512 MB USB thumb drive, it weighs a lot less, is a lot smaller, and it even plays music. True to Apple's form, the navigation is simple and elegant, nothing short of what I expected.
I don't mind not having the a screen. It would add to the size and weight. Its fun to play "russian roulette" with your iTunes library. You should try it sometime.
Before you say it, yes I am still drinking the Kool-Aid. The Reality Distortion Field still exists. The sales figures of the Shuffle surely proves that.
