Apple iPod shuffle 4th Generation Silver (2 GB) (Latest Model)

I bought this item to replace a cheaper MP3 player that had been returned twice due to faults. I had wanted an iPod in the first place but couldn't really justify full price as I only intended using it for daily gym sessions and holidays. After the 'cheaper option' experience, I decided it was best to spend a bit more to get the reliability and opted for the shuffle after I had read other reviews. I thought the 2GB storage would be ideal for my needs and I chose the blue colour as everyone else seems to have the silver one. Having now used it for a couple of months, I cannot fault it in any way. The battery seems to last for ever and storage of songs is very easy. I only store individual tracks and find the voice over facility handy when I need to remind myself of who is singing what! The iPod requires iTunes as set up feature and this works very well with clear and easy to follow options. I have only used the automatic sync facility so far but may in the future use the manual option as this allows for tracks to be added through other computers. The clip is very useful to attach the iPod to clothing when in the gym and with the ability to 'lock' the controls to avoid accidental adjustment,running etc is no problem. I use a different style of headphones only because I prefer the 'in ear' type, but the sound quality remains very impressive.
Overall this item has performed very well so far and I am very impressed with it - visually it looks good and performance is outstanding. I would most definitely recommend this product.

While the 2GB iPod shuffle doesn't hold much music (only managed to get around 270 onto mine) and likely won't be able to hold your entire iTunes library, it's a great, easy way of listening to music on the go.

With a clip on, you can just clip it to your jeans and change the volume or song at your pleasure. Something that is not so easy to do with a big iPod Classic (for example) that you have to stuff in your bag and be forced to listen to whatever playlist or album you've currently got it playing on.

While it doesn't feature a screen, the shuffle has sleek and simple controls that everyone can get very used to very quickly. The voice-over option, while it occasionally doesn't pronounce some things correctly, is also a great alternative to knowing what song(s) you're listening to.

Overall, I would say the iPod shuffle is probably the best MP3 player to listening to music on the go. No, it won't hold 1,000s of songs, but the option to delete tracks you've grown bored of from the shuffle and replacing them with newer songs is always there.

Great MP3 player, reasonable RRP price tag and a great addition to any music enthusiast's collection.

The Apple Shuffle is buggy to say the least with windows XP, but does work perfectly with Vista. The issue with XP is the driver used which for me resulted in not being able to sync my iTunes library. For a big company like Apple not being able to develop a device or even a driver for one of the widely used operating systems is massive let down.

On the upside the design of the shuffle has been kept simple and compact (incl. the capacity) which is a good thing, removal of a screen and a lot of other features (in comparison to its father models the original iPod/iPod Nano/iPod Touch) makes this model relatively cheap - however there are other devices that offer much more than this device for the same or similar price.

One good thing about this device is the battery life which is pretty decent for a music device.

On the whole the shuffle is a well designed and simple device for which suits most peoples needs but especially those whom are easy listeners and aren't bothered what track is played next rather than those whom prefer to listen to a particular band or beat at different times of the day. For me the lack of XP support and the slightly high cost for such a simple device means it give it a 3/5.

The iPod shuffle has long been Apple's 'beginner iPod', introducing MP3 amateurs to the world of portable digital music. Its size and portability have also made it the go-to music player for exercise and activity.

Last year, however, saw Apple taking a step too far in the shuffle's simplicity, removing buttons altogether from the device and instead making use of the bundled headphones for controls. I found this extremely irritating as I was forced to make use of the low quality bundled headphones included and ditch my better third party alternative.

Thankfully, Apple has decided to include controls in this year's iPod Shuffle, meaning I can once again make use of my own headphones when out exercising. They have also retained the extremely clever VoiceOver technology found in last year's model which announces playlists and track names making choosing music without a screen relatively easy.

I tend to carry just about all my music with me, either on one of the older generation 120GB iPod Classics or crushed down to 128kbps on my iPhone. This made the initial 2GB included with the Shuffle relatively difficult to cope with. I spent a good while fussing over which songs to fill the it with. A few days passed and I found myself repeatedly listening to the same songs. This became so irritating that I decided to make use of iTunes autofill option, the concept of which a control freak such as myself struggles with. After this, however, the Shuffle came into its own. I got into the habit of re-filling the shuffle each day prior to my post-work jog and every evening was treated to a new selection of songs to run along to.

The new iPod shuffle is even smaller than its similar 2006 counterpart, so tiny, in fact, that misplacing it was irritatingly easy. Its size meant that it easily disappeared on my somewhat messy desk. Thankfully, however, I had a lovely bright pink brushed aluminium model which easily stood out once I searched for it. I would suggest keeping it either permanently tethered to your computer or attached to a gym bag or exercise clothes.

This really is a great bit of kit, easy to use, light weight and ideal for training with. You can set everything up on your Itunes and just sync it. The voice over for track/playlist selection/battery life is excellent.

The only downside to it is that the charge cable is very short, but believe me thats it.

If you have been thinking about getting a small, lightweight, value for money mp3 player with excellent sound quality this is a must.