This third incarnation of the popular iPod shuffle has undergone an extensive weight loss program and emerged in its slimmest form ever. It’s barely larger than a couple of stacked sticks of gum and appears to be crafted with a minimalist aesthetic in mind. Why so? There’s actually little to no actual button on the shuffle itself barring a sliding Off/On, track shuffle slider button.
Where are the controls you ask? They’ve all been migrated to the headphones with the controls located midway between the audio cable. Using it is akin to tapping out Morse code – two rapid taps to skip forward one track and three to reverse and if you hold it down while playing a track, it reveals the shuffle’s biggest draw card – in an almost Dalek-esque voice, it tells you the name of the track you’re playing and the singer. Most impressive, should English not be your cup of tea, it also speaks in over a dozen other languages.
What really gets our goat though is that you can’t use your own headphones with the 3rd gen Shuffle. You’ll have to stick with the proprietary set provided if you want to have any control over the shuffle and the control system takes quite a while to get use to.
The battery life is middling at about a dozen hours, sufficient for a long commute or several runs in the park. Nevertheless, the new iPod Shuffle is beautifully designed performer with excellent build quality, generous storage at 4GB of space and good sound quality that’s an excellent choice for those who aspire for design and portability in their MP3 players.
Apple iPod Shuffle 3rd Generation Specifications :
Capacity : 4GB – Up to 1000 songs in 128Kbps
Audio Format Support : AAC (16 to 320Kbps), Protected AAC (from iTunes Store), MP3 (16 to 320Kbps), MP3 VBR, Audible (formats 2,3, and 4), Apple Lossless, AIFF and WAV
I/O : 3.5mm stereo headphone jack
Connectivity : Charging and transfer via USB cable
Navigation : Earphones with Remote + VoiceOver
Charging Time : 3 hours – Fully charged 2 hours – 80% charged
Battery Life : Up to 10 hours of audio
Dimension (Including Clip) : 45.2 x 17.5 x 7.8 mm
Weight : 10.7 grams
Popularity: 9% [?]
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