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> Apple 512 MB iPod Shuffle M9724LL/A Review
Welcome
to the Apple 512 MB iPod Shuffle M9724LL/A Review page:
Initial reactions
out of the box:
Out of the box it is as simple as any other iPod and its documentation
is simple yet effective.
Loading the songs (at least on a USB 2.0 PC)
is slower than the regular iPod charge, which is blazingly fast. It takes several
minutes to load the 120+ songs on the 512MB model. The autofill menu is simple
and lets you choose from your library or from one of your playlists, either in
sequential order or at random. I'd personally would have liked more flexibility
(e.g. to load several playlists into it).
When loading it is useful to
select the option to reduce high-resolution MP3 into lower rates. The Shuffle
only supports AAC and MP3 files up to 320 kbps, which is much more than what most
people use (it also supports MP3 VBR files). However, if you do use higher resolutions,
there is an option to load everything on 128Kbps AAC.
Sound quality:
Once
I have loaded it fully, I have tried it with several types of speakers and earphones.
I first tried it with the standard white iPod ear buds which are very convenient,
but come across flat, similar to any iPod. I then tried it with a pair of BOSE
Acoustic Noise Canceling headphones. The results with the BOSE headset are pretty
good; you can not tell a difference from a regular iPod. The music comes across
well defined and bass comes across rich and full. This is at the same level as
regular iPod, but I somehow expected a less full sound. Finally, I tried it on
a set JBL Portable OnTour speakers and again the iPod shuffle stand up really
well related to its 40GB iPod Photo sister.
I used the shuffle for a while
and I can tell you, the sound quality is pretty good. Apple has done a great job
reproducing the same high quality sound as in any iPod, which is much better than
many low cost MP3 players out there.
Synchronizing both players:
Then
I focused on Synchronization with iTunes, synchronizing both my regular 40GB ipod
Photo and my shuffle intermittently. I didn't notice any interoperability issues.
You can own both and synchronize both and not have any issues doing this. Please
remember that iTunes does not allow you to synchronize two regular iPods into
one iTunes library (I guess to provide some protection to the music), unless you
buy one of the 3rd-party software programs out there. In this case (regular iPod
and Shuffle both on one iTunes) both players can synch with the same library with
no issues.
Usage models that best fit each player:
iPod Shuffle:
- Exercise at the gym. It's so light and convenient you won't go back to a
regular iPod.
- Trekking and walking.
- Short flights. Even with just
how easy is to operate a regular iPod you still have to go through a little procedure
to get it out, select your music, put on your headphones, and look for where to
put it (challenging if you are in coach). You can easily board a plane with your
lanyard and turn it on as soon as you can.
- Reading books in the park, your
house. Why bother carrying the big iPod if you are basically going to use if for
background?
Regular iPod:
- Long trips (e.g. transcontinental or to
South America) - you are likely to listen to different types of music in your
library within the trip.
- Parties (you do want the flexibility or changing
your playlist if the mood of the party changes!).
- Listening to specific
songs or albums not in a list. Don't even try on the shuffle - the lack of a screen
will definitively frustrate you.
- Car trips.
Use Smart playlists
to make shuffling a better experience.
Use Smart playlists. You can easily
organize your library by genre, personal rating, time of publication and many
other parameters (or several of them at once). If you have a large music library
you can easily build smart playlists for "Top rated Rock", "My top rated Songs",
"60's Latin" (Bossa Nova lovers) or "90's Soundtracks". Then when you autofill
your iPod shuffle simple pick the music that suits your mood and you are ready.
Changed your mind in the middle of your flight? Simply use your laptop to reload
from a different list.
Definitively a winner as a more convenient second
player. If you like suffling on a regular iPod, don't even think about it and
get it as a second player for those occassions where being light is worth the
loss of flexibility.
Buy the Apple 512 MB iPod Shuffle M9724LL/A
