Thursday, September 06, 2007

Apple iPod Shuffle – Live life less orderly

Loaded with sheer ergonomics to thrill your music world, the Apple iPod shuffle is yet another mark of excellence from the house of Apple. The device is available in two different capability: 512MB and 1GB, and yes priced quite competitively as well. Though there is no screen or display of any kind, operating the device is not lack lustre, for anyways music players that have displays, also have confusing terminology like “root”. Probably Apple though it was best to keep both life and music as simple as possible.

So you might as well wonder how to navigate. Choices are limited though, for either you opt to listen to the tracks in the order of recording, or you use the much hyped ‘shuffle’ feature. At time you might wonder what you are listening to, but if that bothers you much, then surely the device is not for you. For Apple iPod shuffle is designed to grab some tunes and go, without being too bothered about what’s on there.

The feature of Autofill comes a little handy here. This automatically fills up the Apple iPod shuffle with songs from your iTunes library and you can choose/ give preference to songs with a higher rating.

The manufacturer boasts that the Apple iPod shuffle is smaller than the gum. And in fact, it is quite close to its claims. The device is 8.4cm long, a mere 0.84cm thin and incredibly light at only 22g. Having said so, the device can be easily carried around the neck, slip into the pockets/ purses, or wore over the sleeves or belts – all without really being noticed!

In sync with the overall design, the keys of the Apple iPod shuffle are well laid out in a circle, looking like the click wheel of the Nano. Having the control system at the front also brings an added advantage, for, if you are hiding the device under your shirt, it will make the buttons still reachable.

The voice quality is superb, with due attention given to crispness, clarity, bass etc. And the Apple iPod shuffle can run almost for 12 hours, to ensure music becomes your companion so long you are awake.

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