4th Generation Ipod Shuffle
I came into the market for a new small, solid-state, mp3 player earlier this summer when my old second-generation shuffle got washed in my jeans. I bought this new one the day it was released, and I think I’ve got a pretty good feel for the device.
This generation reverts to the same shape as the second generation, re-integrating buttons into the equation, which I think was a wise decision on Apple’s part, and it comes in five colors and one capacity (2 gigabyte). Physically, it’s smaller than the second generation, but feels more solidly built; so solidly built that I’ve thrown it up and down the stairs at home several times so far, to no ill effect. The headphone port is firm enough that you can hang and twirl the device on the headphone cord quite confidently, and the buttons are intuitive and about as minimal as they could manage. There’s the same circle on the front with volume and track change, with a button in the center for play/pause. Along the top, they’ve put one three-position to select off, continuous play, and shuffled play; and one button for the VoiceOver functionality, which I’ll mention again later. On the back, there’s a clip for attaching it to a belt or sleeve or what-have-you. In fact, the only real complaint that I have is that with the new, smaller, form factor and the nearly industrial-strength hinge spring they put on the clip, opening the clip without accidentally changing track is nearly impossible. Physically, then the new shuffle is simple but rugged and intuitive, which I think is about what’s needed for the product.
As far as software goes, it just uses the iTunes software, with the option to fill it from a playlist or playlists, or, if you manage it manually, to select randomly from all of the tracks in your library. This works as well as anything else in iTunes works, though I wish the ways to add tracks were a little more varied, or at least more customizable. The only other software comes from the little button on the top of the device. As I mentioned, press it once, you get VoiceOver, twice and you get battery life remaining, and three times lets you select which playlist on the device to listen to. The VoiceOver is actually a pretty nice inclusion to the shuffle, especially if you’re like me and have a lot of music, sometimes you have stuff you don’t remember but like, and it’s nice to be able to remember an artist or track for later. The voice and its pronunciation is as terrible as any other computer generated voice, and if you have any foreign-language tracks it will switch voices (and sometimes gender) to announce the track, which was VERY creepy the first time it happened.
The shuffle takes heat for not having a screen, but I think that that’s the joy of the device. If you’re picky about finding the music to suit your mood, and you’re trying to do work or work out, that screen is just a venue for distraction, but the blind shuffle lets you go with the flow, and if you autofill from your library like me,you sometimes rediscover forgotten gems. Obviously not everyone is going to like the feature set, but if you’re like me and just need a sturdy little music-buddy, the shuffle seems like a great choice.
