iPod Shuffle - Anyone Got One?

[PaulB]

The Shuffle is supposed to be released in Canada sometime this month. Do any of you have one, and if so, how do you like it?

[COL._Von_Spanker]

I have a 20 gig one. Well really it's a regular Ipod with a broke screen, and luckily I had it on random before the screen broke.

[matt_m]

The Shuffle is supposed to be released in Canada sometime this month. Do any of you have one, and if so, how do you like it?

It's pretty damn cool. I've had a 3G 15Gb iPod for a while and it lives in my car. I got the shuffle for working out and "abuse prone" things since I didn't want to risk the big'un. (Took a spill on the road bike with it and nearly killed it - Got a nice scar sacificing the body instead) Anyway - I'ev got the 512 MB one - hold 120 songs right now (8 Hrs worth!) I ride with it and take it to the gym for solo sessions etc etc. It's great, super lightweight and essentially a no brainer to use. hit play, adjust volume, go. If you're looking to select stuff while you're on the go - this isn't for you - get a mini or reg iPod. Think of the shuffle as a biggie -sized mix CD that you can change every time you're back at your computer. I have a workout mix, chill mix and an "angry" mix that I can put on before heading out.

[Alpinfox]

 

Is the song order always random or can you memorize the order of the songs and therefore find particular songs that way?

 

Olyclimber has one; why hasn't he contributed his two cents. Nudge Nudge.

[olyclimber]

I have the 512MB iShuffle, and it works great. Super small and light weight. It has works in two modes, either shuffle mode or in regular play mode, which is ordered how ever you set up your playlist in iTunes. Get some good "earbud" type in ear headphones. The ones that come with it suck IMHO. I have the Sony ones, they're sort of expensive, but you get excellent bass response and it cranks up pretty loud. If you're rich, go for some Shure E2 or E3s.

 

The iShuffle has a built-in, non-replaceable battery that charges when you plug it in via USB 2.0. The battery lasts a long time...something like 20 hours. Mine hasn't died yet, and I only charge it like once a week.

[iain]

actually if you are rich you should get etymotics. they even have a cheaper version specifically for the iPodders

[marylou]

The earbuds Oly's talking about are the Sony EX71 or EX51. Same exact earbud with same performance, but with the 71s you get a longer cord option and they also come in white. There is no need to pay full retail for them if you do some shopping around.

 

So if you want everyone to know you have an ipod, get the 71s in white. Otherwise, the 51s work great.

 

If any of you MP3 users have these 'buds and want to trade the silicon insert thingies so that you can have an extra set in the right size, I have Smalls or Larges that I could send in exchange for Mediums. Apparently they are pretty spendy to get from Sony.

[Jeebus]

I got SONY ear buds with a hook that goes around your ear. used them on rainier very successfully. only $10.

I have an APACER 1Gig mp3 player fashioned after the MUVO players...it cost me $70 and that is the cheapest price for a 1Gig player. does everything a shuffle can for $70 and came with its own earphones which I don't use.

[JoshK]

I have a full size iPod and really like it, but I have to say the shuffle is a pretty lame effort on apple's part. MPIO's player is smaller, lighter and has a screen. It costs roughly the same as well. Apple is advertising the random shuffling of songs as some sort of advantage, which is pretty ridiculous. Every other player comes with a shuffle feature, so I am not sure why the lack of any control over your music is cool. Basically this is thier effort to save money and make it "look cool" by not including a screen. I'm not impressed.

[assmonkey]

You can get an iShuffle for $150...or you can spend $10 more and get a Creative MuVo Micro N200 1 GB MP3 Player. True, the name is not as sexy, but it has FM radio, FM and audio recording, file transfer (including non-audio files), ability to select the song you want when you want, plays WMA and MP3 formats and a display to navigate all these features.

 

You have to switch out a AAA battery--I use rechargeable nicads from Radio Shack--but that also gives me the ability to bring a few batteries for extended trips. So far, one AAA nicad is lasting about 16 hours.

 

Edit: Added link.

 

- a s s m n k e y

 

 

Edited March 4, 2005 by assmonkey

[dbconlin]

Has anyone heard of the ipod not working at high altitudes? Apparently, they can futz out above 10k', and it has the potential to be irreversible, i.e. buy a new one. That sucks. Flash memory on the Shuffle and other brands solves the problem, but they don't hold as much music as my 40gb ipod.

[Alpinfox]

Has anyone heard of the ipod not working at high altitudes? Apparently, they can futz out above 10k', and it has the potential to be irreversible, i.e. buy a new one.

 

What’s the problem? Well, we did some digging around and have found a logical reason. The hard drive isn’t sealed; it has a device that allows pressure inside the drive to equalize with the pressure outside. Data is stored on disc and is read by a head that floats a small distance from the disc on a cushion of air. Unlike a tape, there is no contact. At altitude, the air thins out and there simply aren’t enough molecules to support the head, making it physically crash onto the hard drive. In computing terms this is referred to as a, “head crash.”

 

SOURCE

[dbb]

wow, very interesting. I guess that makes sense. So would an ipod mini fall under the problems? I know they use a highspeed 4-6Gig compact flash card, but are those based on microdrives as well?

 

the engrish on th MPIO site is classic by the way:

 

"FY200 attracts young people who dive for pragmatic accessory-looking high-tech product with a great voice recorder. 'All-in-one'; multiple functions crammed into one little device. FY200 provides all functions and features you need like a Swiss Army Knife."

 

too bad none of those other players will play AAC files

[JoshK]

Yeah, the engrish is classic

 

No, flash isn't based on microdrives, it's solid-state memory as opposed to a tiny little magnetic drive.

 

for climbing, i think the best bet is still a smallish player that takes some sort of replacable batteries, be it a standard size or a rechargable. I use my creative muvo^2 4gb for this purpose. I odn't know why altitude would make a difference, but maybe it is rather the cold? In that case you could always tuck it in next to your balls or something.

[pfleeger]

I have the muvo micro n200 512mb mp3 player and really like it. Easy to use and comes with a arm strap, belt clip, and head phones. I didn't think the recording feature was going to come into use but i used it today to record a girl's number while on the lift, skiing at mt. baker. That alone made it a great buy.

Edited March 4, 2005 by pfleeger

[billcoe]

I bought the 1 gb version for my wife and she loves it. I thought it was good sound, even with the regular buds, although I'm sure the sonys, Shures, and etymotics Iain mention are better.

 

Reason for purchase, ease of use and lightness. This thing weighs like a stick of gum or so. Great for running, etc.

[JoshK]

That muvo is sweet, i hadn't seen that one yet. For the same price it's about 10x more useful the suckfle, err...shuffle.

[olyclimber]

That muvo is sweet, i hadn't seen that one yet. For the same price it's about 10x more useful the suckfle, err...shuffle.

 

Oh ya....well it's better looking than the bal-muvo!

[matt_m]

You can get an iShuffle for $150...or you can spend $10 more and get a True, the name is not as sexy, but it has FM radio, FM and audio recording, file transfer (including non-audio files), ability to select the song you want when you want, plays WMA and MP3 formats and a display to navigate all these features.

 

 

The FM radio thing baffles me - every single person I know that has an iPod loves it for many reasons but one of the biggest is that they never have to listen to FM again!

Yes, the shuffle adverts the "shuffle" as a feature but more so as a style of use. Their point is that this is a really basic device that plays music and is ridiculously easy to use and carry. They studied mp3 player use and found a large % of people were just shuffling any way so why not save space and complexity and make that the style of use. If you want the ability to choose a song you spend $50 and get the 4gb mini (damn sexy as well)

 

WMA playback? I guess you could want this but I've never needed to carry music in this format. I think napster does this but iTunes music store is HANDS DOWN the best place to buy new stuff and they use AAC. You can also encode your own cds in any foramt you want and I can't think of a reason you;d do it in WMA vs AAC.

 

iPods and the use they receive once purchased is almost illicit drug like. I've had 4 close friends all get them after seeing me with mine for the past year and within a week they wouldn't shut up about them.

 

get one - once you get a taste you'll never look back

[marylou]

iPods and the use they receive once purchased is almost illicit drug like

 

Ahem, yes.

[Alpinfox]

Anyone here ever used the Sandisk MP3 players?

 

LINK

 

[olyclimber]

Anyone here ever used the Sandisk MP3 players?

 

I haven't used one, but I have used the software that comes with it (MusicMatch) for a while about 6 months ago. I did not like the software...it was memory hog and constantly hung up. Hopefully it doesn't require the MusicMatch software to transfer or organize music on the device...and you could use something else. Maybe they have improved the software, but I use iTunes these days, and I've had no problem with it. Unfortunately iTunes only works with Pods.

[JoshK]

Yeah, MusicMatch sucks.

 

Honestly, I think the "drug use" thing is about the same as any MP3 player. I own both an iPod and two non-apple MP3 players. The iPod is nothing special, IMHO. It's pretty looking and overpriced (but I still really like it) but there is nothing that makes it magic over the others. For the huge jukebox players, however, i think the only two options are the iPod or the creative zen slide. The other types of scrolling devices just don't measure up for huge collections.

 

If I had a recommendation for a "climbing" mp3 player I would say replacable batteries is number one. A player with a "whopping" 15 hours of playtime isn't much use after 1 day in the hillz.

[Dr_Crash]

I've got that Sandisk player. Great price when I got it (1 Gb for $119) but it crashes all the time when playing my music in random mode. So every 3 or 4 songs I need to remove the battery, put it back, restart the thing... And it starts at the same song it was the last time you started it (apparently it only saves where it is on shut off, not every time it changes songs).

 

A pain... I need to file a bug report on Sandisk's site and hope they will release a firmware updated.

 

drC

[Dr_Crash]

I've got that Sandisk player. Great price when I got it (1 Gb for $119) but it crashes all the time when playing my music in random mode. So every 3 or 4 songs I need to remove the battery, put it back, restart the thing... And it starts at the same song it was the last time you started it (apparently it only saves where it is on shut off, not every time it changes songs).

 

A pain... I need to file a bug report on Sandisk's site and hope they will release a firmware updated.

 

You can transfer music any way you want (I used WMP 10).

 

drC

 

PS: just got firmware 1.02 and the damn thing still freezes.

Edited March 16, 2005 by Dr_Crash