Remember back to when you were a child (or, if you are a child, you know exactly what I am talking about in the here and now). Did you always do what your parents said? Probably not. Were you off doing random actions to seek attention and perhaps cause a little havoc? Most likely yes – though if you are an iPod shuffle, that “most likely” is dropped and replaced with a “yes!”.
The iPod shuffle is by far the smallest member of the family, measuring a mere 3.3” by 0.98” (about the size of a pack of gum) and weighing a trivial .78 ounces. The design of this player is, to say the least, far and away different then other iPods. The two most notable features are the lack of a LCD and a special sliding switch on the back which controls the namesake shuffle function.
What is the “shuffle” function you ask? Essentially, it is the essence of this player. Apple built the iPod shuffle to randomly play songs you’ve loaded onto it using iTunes and your computer’s USB connection. This random play feature, which is found on other iPods by navigating through the LCD’s menu screens, is prominently featured on the shuffle as a way to make your listening experience different and a little less orderly each time. It can be switched off however if you desire to retain order instead.
Another interesting feature on the shuffle is the AutoFill function, which works only in conjunction with the iTunes song management software. When the shuffle is connected to your PC or Mac, iTunes analyzes how much space is available on the player. It then uses this data to randomly select songs from your collection and drops just enough in to the player to maximize the available memory. You can further refine selections by telling AutoFill to use specific playlists only, or turn the feature off all together and manually select the songs you wish to load.
Speaking of available memory, the iPod shuffle comes in two different storage sizes – 512MB (holds up to 120 songs and costs $69) and 1GB (holds up to 240 songs and costs $99). Instead of using a hard drive like other iPods, the shuffle uses something called flash memory. This type of memory holds fewer songs, but the tradeoff is that unlike hard drives, which have moving parts, flash memory won’t skip if bumped. Hard drive based players have been known to skip and lose their playback place in rare cases when people jostle them during exercise or other movement based activities.
Control on the iPod shuffle is also slightly different. Unlike the scrolling Click Wheels on other iPod models, the shuffle uses a simple frontal button interface which allows you to manage the volume, navigate forwards and backwards between songs and play/pause.
Beyond these features, other notable things about the shuffle include up to 12 hours of playback on the rechargeable battery, support of Audible audio books, playback of MP3 and AAC music formats and the ability to store other types of files besides music.
Shop for the 512MB iPod shuffle and 1GB iPod shuffle.
iPod nano: The Stylish Mother
Is your mother the cool one on the block? Does she always know what to say, what to wear and how to act? Such is the case as well for the svelte, stylish iPod nano. Like the larger iPod, the nano can play songs and display photos. Where its wow factor comes in is its design – a bright 1.5-inch color LCD screen housed in a body which weighs 1.5 ounces and measures a mere 0.27 inches thick.
The iPod nano, like the shuffle, uses flash memory instead of a hard drive to store music and photos. Storage sizes are available in flavors of 1GB (up to 240 songs - $149), 2GB (up to 500 songs - $199) and 4GB (up to 1,000 songs - $249), and the player comes in black or white body colors.
Like the more basic iPod, the nano can store and playback MP3 and AAC music files as well as being able to display JPEG, BMP, GIF, TIFF and PNG image files. It also sports the Click Wheel, playlists and photo-friendly features which have made the larger iPod so successful.
Other notable features of the iPod nano include choice of black or white body colors, up to 14 hours of rechargeable battery life and USB 2.0 support for quicker transfers of music to the player from a PC or Mac.
Shop for the white 1GB iPod nano, black 1GB iPod nano, white 2GB iPod nano, black 2GB iPod nano, white 4GB iPod nano and black 4GB iPod nano.
