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Review

ipod shuffle consumer electronics review: introduction

When the first iPod shuffle was released it received a mix review on one hand people though it was great an iPod for under £100. But others thought that it wasn't a proper iPod as it had no screen and limited features of the iPod. The market for the lower end of the mp3 market is quite tough as there a hundreds of similar spec mp3 players out there and at a lower price. But it seems that with the release of the 2g iPod shuffle Apple has gained back much needed market share. With the new and improved features of the iPod shuffle one being its size. I personally think that it's the final piece of the iPod road map, apple now have an iPod for all occasions. They have their high end iPod touch – iPhone and their mid range iPod video and their lower end Shuffles this should cover the whole market.

ipod shuffle consumer electronics review: Main Facts

Apples big claim with the iPod shuffle is the size they say that it's the smallest mp3 on the market. This maybe right but I'm not going to test it. The iPod shuffles vital stats are 27.3 x 41.2 x 10.5mm and a lightweight 15.5 grams. Which is brilliant size and very versatile.

The shuffle was intended to allow Apple to penetrate a lower part of the market. Where the cheaper smaller mp3 players where. There main aim was to bring an affordable iPod but with superior features and build quality then other manufacturers. The first iPod shuffle cleared around 10 million shuffles so they must have got it spot on. It has been estimated that the have sold about 1.8 million shuffles in the first 4 months of its release. Which isn't too shabby for something that got so many mixed reviews.

The iPod shuffle now as at the 16th February 2008 comes in the following sizes 1 gb 2 gb so depending on the bit rate you have choosen you could fit on either 240 songs on the 1gb version or 480 songs on the 2 gb version. Which is quite a lot of albums. The iPod shuffles comes with similar controls to the first iPod shuffle, but regrettably it doesn't come with the flagship wheel control that iPods have made famous one of the main reasons is that it has no screen. I think Apple have done a fantastic job with this version of the iPod shuffle.

ipod shuffle consumer electronics review: Conclusion

I think that Apple has gone into more detail with the cool aluminium style and sturdy incorporated belt clip. The current Shuffle looks like they have put more effort into the style and not just grabbed stuff that was hanging around.

The iPod Shuffle is ideal for sports with the integrated clip you don't need to have pockets you simply can clip it to your clothes and off you go. But remember to take it off when you're washing your clothes!

Specification

Size and weight

• Height: 27.3 mm (1.07 inches)
• Width: 41.2 mm (1.62 inches)
• Depth: 10.5 mm (0.41 inches) Including clip
• Weight: 15.6 g (0.55 oz)

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