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Product: Flash based MP3 player

Developer: Apple

Minimum Requirements: USB port (some computers require either the optional iPod shuffle Dock or a USB cable extender (sold separately)), Mac OS X v10.2.8 or Mac OS X 10.3.4 and later (Mac OS X 10.3.6 or later recommended for use with low-power USB ports)

Retail Price: $99.00 (512MB); $149.00 (1GB)

Availability: Out now

When Apple announced the original iPod, I went on record as saying it's the first piece of hardware Apple's ever released that I had no interest in owning. Apple eventually proved me wrong, as I now own a 3G iPod, and it gets more use than my regular CD player.

I feel somewhat the same way about iPod Photo, as I don't feel the screen is large enough to really do anything productive with visuals. Too small to see photos and videos, and I never carried around my 45 sleeves before, so why should I care if I can see the cover of the album I downloaded from the iTunes Music Store? I'm a fan of music, not of cover glamour photography.

Oddly, I feel the opposite towards the iPod Shuffle. I do get what Apple's doing with it, and I won't argue there's not a market for it. But, I'll caution anyone in this market that it would make much more sense to just save up a while longer to get an actual iPod.

Before I make arguments for that, here's how the iPod Shuffle works. Install the software, plug the device into an available USB port, copy songs from iTunes to the iPod, play. The songs, of course, can either be songs you ripped from other sources or you downloaded from the iTunes Music Store. It's all very efficient. At this, Apple is the undeniable king.

The iPod Shuffle really is about the same size as a pack of chewing gum, so it's very easy to transport...and to lose. Especially seeing that no dock unit comes with the device, you'll need to work hard to not misplace it. I'm sure many accessories will soon be available to help you keep track of and safely transport your iPod Shuffle, but be careful until then. Also, if you're like me and hate the earbud headphones, any larger set you buy will dwarf the iPod Shuffle, thereby making pointless its small footprint.

The USB connector is at the bottom of the device, so you can easily plug it directly into your computer's open USB port...provided it's not in the back of your computer. No problem with my PowerBook or G5 tower, but I wouldn't have enjoyed having to reach behind my flat panel iMac each time I wanted to add or remove songs.

Or charge it. Yes, without a dock, your only option is to plug your iPod into your computer to charge it, meaning you have to leave your computer on, as well. Again, that's not the convenience one expects from Apple. An iPod Shuffle Dock will eventually be available from Apple for an extra $29.00 (five to seven weeks at press time), but this only allows easier access to your computer's USB port. If you want a device to charge the iPod Shuffle when you're computer's not on or available, you need to spend another $29.00 on an iPod USB Power Adapter.

When the iPod Shuffle is not plugged into the computer, a protective case snaps over the USB connector. The iPod Shuffle ships with a lanyard you can also snap into place here, but I wouldn't trust the connection. I have no reason to not trust it, as it never snapped off, but I also didn't run it through a realistic stress test. If you plan to go jogging or riding a crowded subway while wearing your iPod Shuffle, I recommend waiting until a case is available that completely surrounds the device instead of just attaching a string to the end.

As you have no doubt noticed, the iPod Shuffle has no screen. This means less control. You can organize your songs however you want in iTunes so they'll play in order on your iPod Shuffle, but if want to skip from track 3 to track 53, you'll have to hit the fast forward button 50 times. Hardly convenient. This is why Apple's pushing the shuffle aspect of it. Load it up with songs, play it in shuffle mode, and have no idea what's coming up next.

This, my dear reader and Apple enthusiast, is where I differ from the target audience (and perhaps most music fans today). I like listening to albums. I like to hear songs in the order the artist intended, not by some random computer calculation. Yes, I do make my own mix CDs and I do have numerous custom playlists on my 3G iPod, but I set these up so I can listen to what I want, when I want. The back of the iPod Shuffle box asks, " How does it know which song to play next? Can it read it your mind? Can it read your moods?" Well, no. It can't. You alone can read your mind (hopefully), so you alone know what songs you want to hear when. Not your iPod Shuffle.

I can, however, think of some good uses for shuffle mode. I'd certainly be happy dumping my Queen collection on it and just having fun seeing what comes up next (although I'd need the larger model, as 120 songs won't cut it with Queen's catalog). Or, seeing that I have amassed quite the collection of 80s music, I'd enjoy filling it up with those songs and having my own "Totally 80s Weekend" radio show every day. I didn't test either of these, though, as I'm not the kind of guy who keeps hundreds or thousands of MP3s on his computer, all awaiting their turn to be dumped onto the iPod. When I put songs on my iPod, I copy them to the computer, transfer them to the iPod, then delete them from my hard drive. The reason I have the iPod, after all, is so I don't have to clutter my hard drive with songs.

The iPod Shuffle would also be good for audio books from Audible.com, provided you can find any that'll fit on it. I have no doubt that someone will soon release a microphone for it, at which point you'll be able to record lectures and such to your iPod Shuffle and then study for your tests in random order.

And finally, the iPod Shuffle offers up to 12 hours of continuous playback, although I've read some reports that it actually can go quite a bit longer than that. Like with the regular iPod, however, the rechargeable lithium battery will eventually die and need to replaced. Seeing that it can cost around $100 to have an iPod battery replaced, I wonder if that price will be dropped for the iPod Shuffle. If not, you'll be just as well off buying a whole new unit. Note that Apple still hasn't provided a logical way to transfer songs from iPod to iPod. If you want to update, you'll have to once again burn all of the songs to your computer and again transfer them to your iPod. I appreciate Apple's fear of the RIAA, but I find this crippling. I guess if you can only fit 120 songs on your iPod, that' not as bad as having to go through this process with 10,000 songs.

There's no denying that the iPod Shuffle is a slick looking device, and its price point will finally put it in reach of more Macintosh users. Trouble is, it doesn't offer nearly as much for the money as the iPods, iPod Photos or even iPod minis do. Why spend $150 for a 1GB iPod when you can spend $100 more for a 4GB that gives you much more control and functionality? And why doesn't Apple offer something like 5 free downloads from the iTunes Music Store with the purchase of an iPod Shuffle? Seems to me it'd be a better way to get new users to visit the store than yet another Pepsi promotion, but perhaps it's a safe assumption that iPod purchasers are already going to visit the iTunes Music Store.

The iPod Shuffle isn't a bad deal, but it just feels like Apple's milking the brand for all it's worth instead of really offering anything new. Current iPod owners will have no incentive to pick one of these up, and new buyers will only too quickly realize what they're missing by not getting a bigger, better model. If your only exposure to music is what you hear on the radio or at dance clubs, you may be happy enough with the iPod Shuffle. But if you're the type who actually purchases albums and attends concerts, chances are you won't be happy with the way iPod Shuffle forces you to listen to music its way, not the musicians'...or yours.

[For an alternative take on the iPod Shuffle, see Marc Zeedar's review.]