The iPod Shuffle was introduced exactly 2 weeks before my partner’s birthday. So, thinking that it would make an ideal present, and allowing for a 2 week delivery time, I ordered one straight away. This isn’t a proper review, neither is a comparison with the big iPod because I don’t own one. Rather, it’s a quick list of pros and cons after a week or so of using it (a bit .

Pros

• Very small and light
• No moving parts so it’s impossible to make it skip
• Simple controls mean you can operate it through a layer of clothing, which is useful when out jogging.
• Backwards compatible with my iMac which has USB 1.1, and transfer speed isn’t bad.
• The Autofill feature on iTunes makes it easy to keep the iPod Shuffle full of randomly selected music from your Library.

Cons

• No Ogg Vorbis playback (this is always going to be a problem with the iPods for me)
• Slight popping noise between tracks. Not a problem when you’re out and about, but when listening in a quiet room, it’s slightly distracting.
• The supplied headphones aren’t great, but, like the infamous hockey puck mouse, easily replaceable with something better.