Before I start, I figured I'd just point out that the shuffle and autofill features (which selects which track to put into the ipod when uploading) are optional. You choose whether to use this function, not the ipod. So if you want to use autofill it's there, if not, just use it as normal. Personally I thin kit's nice to have the novel feature there if you should ever want it. Whereas you 30 year old blokes might like to be in control, a 14 yr old girl might not be so set in her ways....
The missus wasn't too sure what to ask for Valentines so I suggested an ipod shuffle, they're relatively inexpensive (even compared to the baby zens), VERY light and carryable and non-clunky. That was the main selling point, and I have to agree, the more I've been looking into them today, the more impressed I am with them.
Whereas I've looked semi-down upon ipods since they were just basically MP3 players or file dumps, and you could get better for cheaper, this shuffle is ideal (and although it pains me to say it, it looks ****in' cool man!). It just has to be a case of it being ideal for walking to work, playing squash and going running etc., which is when you don't actually want something relatively heavy with lots of moving components, or too much filespace. Anything more and I'd have to advise someone to go for something else like you guys have specified....
From the user reviews I've seen (read ****loads today, the general verdict is if you want a cheaper, lighter, smaller version of the ipod, there are few out there as good, and this comes from some people who didn't like them and preferred ipods due to more space, the screen etc), the shuffle is actually very different to most flash players out there, not least because of the support and the looks. Whereas the lack of screen would normally be a minus point in this case it's a major selling point since it won't detract from charge times and it might force the missus to listen to some choons that she wouldn't normally listen to (Missus herself admits her taste in music's changed a lot since starting going out with me).
Plus, re-selling should be cinch if the need should ever take her since ipods are in such big appeal, and will be for a while...
Basically, it's horses for courses. The missus never walks more than an hour, and wherever she's going there's almost always a PC with MP3s available on it. Why bother going for anything more? No need.... (and it's cheap to replace if she loses it....)
I wouldn't mind them removing the screen to improve battery life, if they actually improved battery life. 12 hours is crap.
but it's really tiny which i like
I think Creative must be *really* concerned to issue a release like this - meaning they said they were not worried when IPOD launched and look at the adoption which that has had on the market.....
... this will hurt Creative in the low end segment no arguments will stop that.
The sales figures are already speaking for themselves..
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it misses 1 MAJOR function of any mp3 player with usb built-in - you CANT copy music to/from it WITHOUT itunes. apparently you can partition part of the drive as fat, but not the part with the music on - how pants is that!
i also think it *may* get frustrating to use, when you want to listen to one particular song - 1 gig of music is approx 2-300 tracks - and you want to listen to one.. pretty much impossible..
hughlunnon@yahoo.com | I have sigs turned off..
when you want to listen to one particular song - 1 gig of music is approx 2-300 tracks - and you want to listen to one.. pretty much impossible..
yes, i can see it now.... aa time for the village people (sorry) ok, err, not that one, next, err, yep not that one either, next , err, no aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
HTC Diamond, Cannon G9. Apple Unibody Macbook Pro 15" 2.4Ghz C2D, 256 9400GT,
Well, I've already got my iPod shuffle now, and I'm very happy with it. Other MP3 player prices have fallen a bit since then - and I think even you'll agree that the player you've shown there looks pretty ugly. Perhaps I'm falling for style above substance, but I really do like the iPod shuffle.Originally Posted by nichomach
Of course, it does depend on your attitude towards music - if you're the sort of person who absolutely decides that they must listen to a particular track, right now, then it's no good at all. I, on the other hand, see it more as a "guaranteed radio" - ie. I don't know waht track it'll play next, but I know it'll be something I like. I guess I'm not much of a music enthusiast, since quite a bit of the music I like I wouldn't recognise on the spot, so not being able to choose the song makes no difference at all. Plus, I do like the iTunes music store, and especially their regular free tracks.
I fully understand that the iPod shuffle isn't perfect - but I think that Apple's iPod shuffle's sales are estimated to be over a million and a 40% share of the flash player market, I'm not the only one who thinks this.
Ugly? Personally, I think the Shuffle looks fairly cheap and plasticky. As does the Dabs one, so I don't think there's much to choose aesthetically between them. I don't doubt that there are a lot of people who've bought a Shuffle and are very happy. I don't think I would be, since it lacks functionality compared to other players at a similar price point. You're happy with yours and that's great. I just think the Shuffle's a not very well specced generic flash-based MP3 player that's had an Apple logo stuck on it.
It just goes to show how brand affects what we, the public, buy.
Looks really dont matter for a small flash MP3 player, its going to be in your pocket, out of sight, out of mind. Even a screen isnt that importnat, tho a little lcd display telling you which track your on at least would be nice.
What not just buy a normal mp3 player and switch on random mode? That does exactly the same thing as the shuffle, lets you transfer tracks without iTunes, lets you choose which track you want OR play randomly, create/edit playlists etc etc..
Buying a shuffle is really beyond a waste of money, and i;ve not seen/heard any decent arguements for buying one yet.
Also allows multiple storage formats and the possiblity of memory expansion.
Tenner that in a year (to 18 months, this IS apple) a new shuffle comes out with a screen?
IT'S A BET!
I personally couldnt give a toss about how a small MP3 player looks, as it would live in my pocket anyway.. and i hate Itunes with a passion (and any other "music management" program)
all i want to be able to do is plug a mp3player in, and drag the mp3s to it thru explorer. for me it has to be flash based, as i managed to destroy the hdd in a zen micro in under two days.
so.. my current MP3 player.... a nokia 6230i with a 1gb mmc in it
What's the sound quality like? Surely the file transfer speed is horribly slow compared with a "proper" MP3 player?I personally couldnt give a toss about how a small MP3 player looks, as it would live in my pocket anyway.. and i hate Itunes with a passion (and any other "music management" program)
all i want to be able to do is plug a mp3player in, and drag the mp3s to it thru explorer. for me it has to be flash based, as i managed to destroy the hdd in a zen micro in under two days.
so.. my current MP3 player.... a nokia 6230i with a 1gb mmc in it
its not great on a 6230 - not bad considering but not great. my biggest gripe was that without bodging a headset, there is no way of using DECENT headphones with the thing - the headset that comes with it is utter carp.
you could always do the file transfer thru a separate mmc reader..
hughlunnon@yahoo.com | I have sigs turned off..
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