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Hello Everyone!
I just finished watching the Macworld Keynote and I wanteed to know if the iPod Shuffle is worth it for use as a memory stick. I have a friend interested in using it to play music as well as transfer files from his School PC to Home Mac and does not have enough spare cash to afford a full iPod.
What I wanted to know is if the shuffle would be good and worth the price for this purpose.
Any feedback?
AGhost
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01-13-2005, 06:44 PM
(This post was last modified: 01-13-2005, 09:46 PM by Greg Gant.)
First, define worth it.
The Shuffle you have to allocate space for file transfer where as the regular iPods/Minis used a shared mechanism. I ordered one but strictly for excercise. My 3G 20 giger just isn't exactly workout friendly because of size and wieght. You'll see seasoned runners with iPods in hand, there's a reason why.
The fact the Shuffle lacks the playlist and browsing capalities and likewise. I wouldn't want it as my main player.
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You could spend on an iPod but a cheaper alternative would be to buy a USB flash drive, the price is running rock bottom, and then just buy a $40 adapter that plays MP3's from an attached USB storage device.
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Im looking into one of these too but the lack of a display hurts it. All I want is battery life, track # and track song.I could care less about song titles being displayed.
But the price and size are right though.
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(01-14-2005, 07:45 AM)joefox Wrote:You could spend on an iPod but a cheaper alternative would be to buy a USB flash drive, the price is running rock bottom, and then just buy a $40 adapter that plays MP3's from an attached USB storage device.
[right][snapback]197023[/snapback][/right]
I haven't seen a 1GB flash drive cheaper than $70 after checking pricegrabber. So if such an adapter is $40, it would be $110. Cheaper than a 1GB iPod shuffle, but the question is if it isn't worth it to get the shuffle for the compatibility, size (plus getting it in once piece) and sheer brilliance of it.
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(01-14-2005, 02:02 AM)SilverNeo Wrote:Im looking into one of these too but the lack of a display hurts it. All I want is battery life, track # and track song.I could care less about song titles being displayed.
But the price and size are right though.
[right][snapback]197029[/snapback][/right]
The display will come with the introduction of iShuffle version 2.
Apple tends to make gradual improvements to their products, so hang in there. 
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(01-14-2005, 03:25 PM)Whaleman Wrote: (01-14-2005, 07:45 AM)joefox Wrote:You could spend on an iPod but a cheaper alternative would be to buy a USB flash drive, the price is running rock bottom, and then just buy a $40 adapter that plays MP3's from an attached USB storage device.
[right][snapback]197023[/snapback][/right]
I haven't seen a 1GB flash drive cheaper than $70 after checking pricegrabber. So if such an adapter is $40, it would be $110. Cheaper than a 1GB iPod shuffle, but the question is if it isn't worth it to get the shuffle for the compatibility, size (plus getting it in once piece) and sheer brilliance of it.
[right][snapback]197059[/snapback][/right]
Don't know why people use those "pricing websites"... pretty much next to useless...
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc....-228-025&depa=0
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc....-228-026&depa=0
Shoot, they even have a 2 GB one for $91. Guess that would be one advantage
to a combo flashdrive/mp3 player...you can easily upgrade the memory size.
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This certainly isn't your cheapest option, so it comes down to whether or not you want to pay the Apple premium.
Others have already noted cheaper alternatives, but none of the solutions is as simple as the Flashpod. I like it's elegance, and I understand the lack of the display but I don't see why they couldn't put some kind of battery meter on it.
All in all, I may get one to use when I'm running and during my TKD workouts. I was especially wary of trying to use my click-wheel because at the end of the day, the HD has moving parts and it's not a good thing to subject it to constant, sudden motions. This, OTOH, may just prove to be worth it to me for those applications. At 1GB, it can offer just enough for minor file storing convenience, to boot.
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For those that seem to have missed it, there is a battery indicator on the back of the iPod shuffle. I can't really say how it works from the pictures, but it's there.
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(01-14-2005, 07:25 AM)Whaleman Wrote:I haven't seen a 1GB flash drive cheaper than $70 after checking pricegrabber.
[right][snapback]197059[/snapback][/right]
I'm not saying there cheap, I'm saying the price has gone down. Two months ago I bought a 64MB for $25. Now I've seen adds for 256MB for about the same price at some places. 
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(01-14-2005, 12:06 PM)MacProject Wrote: (01-14-2005, 02:02 AM)SilverNeo Wrote:Im looking into one of these too but the lack of a display hurts it. All I want is battery life, track # and track song.I could care less about song titles being displayed.
But the price and size are right though.
[right][snapback]197029[/snapback][/right]
The display will come with the introduction of iShuffle version 2.
Apple tends to make gradual improvements to their products, so hang in there.
[right][snapback]197071[/snapback][/right]
Oh don't you worry! I am going to wait!
But its oh so hard to resist... 
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Ok, right after I heard the Keynote at Macworld Expo 2005. I browsed over to apple.com and purchased the 512 model. Reasons being, this player is great because of its elegance and simplicity. I owned a Creative MuVo TX FM 256MB, and let me tell you, you won't use the LED display that much. If you listen to enough of your music and your playlists, you will memorize all of your new playlists or know which song is which within seconds. Also, this iPod is built for the shuffle feature, hence the name iPod Shuffle. The major reason I purchased this in companion to my 4th Gen 20 GB iPod, is because of its price. Any more expensive and I would of had to reconsider. Also, you are purchasing, not only a flash MP3 player, but the Apple iPod name brand. Also, 1GB of songs might be too much to scroll through and might only be good for people who need it for its Removable HD feature.
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Oh yeah, I forgot one huge feature, the rechargable, built-in battery.
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The single greatest thing about this shuffle is the autofill, I just
got the shuffle yesturday and I didn't really want to use the
autofill, but I thought I'd give it a shot, thanks to this feature, I
set autofill to take music from my greatest songs playlist (above
3 stars) and I am rediscovering songs that I forgot about
because of the sheer amont of music I have. But it does seem as if I am talking to myself now. hmmmm.
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01-18-2005, 05:58 PM
(This post was last modified: 01-18-2005, 05:58 PM by Whaleman.)
Nah, we're listening ;)
I'm damn tempted to get one myself... but my economy sucks right now, and there's plenty of stuff with higher prio. I seldom feel that my 15GB iPod is cumbersome either... i just want a shuffle for the brilliance of it....
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How crippled would the shuffle be if I used it with the 12 mb/s USB on my G4 MDD? I'd really like to get one but not if it takes 20 minutes to fill up.
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You still need several hours connected to charge it, so I can't see that being much of an obstacle.
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Good point whale, however I've hit another snag:
I ran software update today and as it attempts to install the new iPod shuffle driver the app unexpectedly quits...
This has never happened to me before, I'll try restarting and repairing permissions and such, but I'm still weirded out by this.
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You must remove the iPod Shuffle from your mouth before installing software on it.
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The review over on www.maccentral.com notes that this device has difficulty fitting into the eMac's on-board USB ports. 
Specifically:
"Also, because the iPod shuffle is a bit wider than the USB keydrive it resembles, it won’t fit on some computers (Apple’s eMac, for example)."
http://www.macworld.com/2005/01/reviews/ip...eview/index.php
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