Apple iPod Shuffle 1GB Second Gen Review

Apple decided to give the Shuffle a complete overhaul. And boy has it done a good job. Instead of the polished white plastic that adorns almost every other iPod-related product, Apple has plumped for the clean, colourful lines of an anodised aluminium finish – available in a rainbow of different colours, naturally. On the subject of radical design decisions, Apple has also chosen to eschew the tried and tested round-the-neck method of toting tiny MP3 players such as this. Instead, it has built a sprung clip – constructed from the same beautifully finished anodised aluminium – onto the rear of the player.

..I probably wouldn’t like to have a Shuffle as my main music player, simply because it doesn’t have a screen and I like to have a modicum of control over the order in which my music plays. However, there are many things to like about the new Shuffle and it would make an ideal exercise companion or first-time player. It looks great, the clip-on design is practical and the shuffle approach makes a nice change from the usual, forcing you to sample more of your music collection than perhaps you might otherwise do day to day.

But its best feature is its sound quality. For £50 [~$70] the only player that comes close is iRiver’s T50 and, even without the screen, this makes it well worth considering for those on a budget.

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