iPod Shuffle

iPod Shuffle

From left to right, the three generations of the iPod Shuffle.
Manufacturer	Apple Inc.
Type	Portable Media Player
Lifespan	January 11, 2005-present
Media	flash memory 512 MB to 4 GB currently 2 – 4 GB
Display	None
Input	Shuffle, Play In Order, Turn Off, 3.5-mm stereo headphone jack
Connectivity	USB 2.0
Power	Lithium polymer battery
Mass	0.38 ounces (11 g)
Related	iPod Nano iPod Mini iPod Classic iPod Touch iPhone

The iPod Shuffle (trademarked as iPod shuffle) is a digital audio player designed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is the budget model in Apple's iPod family. It was announced at the Macworld Conference & Expo on January 11, 2005, using the tagline "life is random". Instead of storing data on a hard disk, it was the first iPod to use flash memory. The current third generation model, introduced on March 11, 2009, weighs 10.7 grams 0.38  ounces, making it Apple's smallest digital audio player.

Models

Generation	Image	Capacity	Colors	Connection	Original release date	Minimum OS to sync	Rated battery life (hours)
First		512 MB	White	USB (no adaptor required)	January 11, 2005	Mac: 10.2.8 Windows: 2000	audio: 12
		1 GB
		New entry-level model. Uses flash memory and has no screen.
Second		1 GB	Silver	USB 2.0 (with included dock)	September 12, 2006	Mac: 10.3.9 Windows: 2000	audio: 12
		Smaller clip design with anodized aluminum casing.
Second Early 2007 revision		1 GB	Silver Orange Green Blue Pink	USB 2.0 (with included dock)	January 30, 2007	Mac: 10.3.9 Windows: 2000	audio: 12
		Four new color options added.
Second Late 2007 revision		1 GB	Silver Light Blue Light Green Purple PRODUCT (RED) Special Edition	USB 2.0 (with included dock)	September 5, 2007	Mac: 10.4.8 Windows: 2000	audio: 12
		2 GB			February 19, 2008
		Green and blue colors changed to lighter shades, and pink and orange discontinued.
Second Late 2008 revision		1 GB	Silver Blue Green Pink PRODUCT (RED) Special Edition	USB 2.0 (with included dock)	September 9, 2008	Mac: 10.4.10 Windows: 2000	audio: 12
		2 GB
		Blue and green reverted to brighter shades and purple replaced with pink.
Third		4 GB	Silver Black	USB 2.0 (cable is included)	March 11, 2009	Mac: 10.4.11 Windows: XP	audio: 10
		Smaller design with controls relocated to right earbud cable. Two colors, and features VoiceOver. Sold concurrently with 1 GB 2G model.
Third Late 2009 revision
		2 GB	Silver Black Blue Green Pink	USB 2.0 (cable is included)	September 9, 2009	Mac: 10.4.11 Windows: XP	audio: 10
		4 GB
			Polished Stainless Steel (exclusive to Apple Online and Retail Stores)
	New colors, new 4GB Apple Store Exclusive Polished metal body, and 2 GB model to replace 2G 1 GB shuffle.

Overview

First generation

Released on January 11, 2005, the first generation iPod Shuffle was designed to be easily loaded with a selection of songs and to play them in random order. According to Apple, owners of existing iPods had often left the music selection to "shuffle", and the new iPod Shuffle was a way of implementing that in a much more cost-effective fashion. It relies on the use of an "autofill" feature in iTunes, which can select songs at random from a user's music library (or from a specific playlist) and copy as many as will fit into iPod Shuffle's memory. It can hold up to 240 songs (1 GB model, based on Apple's estimate, of four minutes per song and 128 kbit/s AAC encoding). It used the SigmaTel STMP35xx System On a Chip, a flash memory IC, and USB rechargeable Lithium cell.

It lacks the trademark display, scroll wheel, playlist management features, games, address book, calendar, alarm, and notes capability of earlier iPods, and cannot be used with iSync. In addition, due to its lower processing power, it is incapable of playing Apple Lossless and AIFF audio files, unlike other iPod models. The iPod Shuffle has a better bass response than a 4th generation iPod, according to one review published days after its release. The first generation shuffle weighed 0.78 ounces.

First generation iPod Shuffle with the cap removed to show the USB connector. The cap snaps onto the unit. iPod Shuffle comes with a second cap on a lanyard, which a user can wear around his or her neck.

iTunes offers some new features for iPod Shuffle. One is the ability to reduce the bit rate of songs to 128 kbit/s AAC. The conversion is done automatically, with the original file left untouched on the computer and the smaller (lower bit rate) file sent to the iPod Shuffle. Older versions of iTunes allowed an iPod Shuffle playlist to be viewed and changed while the unit is not connected; the next time the unit is connected, it can then be updated with the changed playlist. This functionality is no longer a part of iTunes as of iTunes 7.

The front of the iPod Shuffle has buttons for Play/Pause, Next Song/Fast Forward, Previous Song/Fast Reverse, and up and down volume adjustment. On the reverse, it has a battery level indicator light (activated by a button) and a three-position switch to turn the unit off or set it to play music in order or shuffled. It plugs directly into a computer's USB port (either 1.1 or 2.0), through which it also recharges its battery, which has an expected life of around 12 hours between charges. The USB plug is hidden beneath a cap. The unit also comes with a lanyard that attaches to the iPod Shuffle via an attached cap and this allows the user to wear the iPod Shuffle around his or her neck.

The iPod Shuffle can also be used as a USB flash drive. iTunes allows a user to set how much of the drive will be allowed for storing files, and how much will be used for storing music.

Second generation

A Second-generation iPod Shuffle in size-comparison to a Dell mouse.

On September 12, 2006, Apple announced the release of the second generation iPod Shuffle, calling it "the most wearable iPod ever". First shipments of the unit were slated for an October 2006 arrival, but actually started shipping on Friday, November 3, 2006. The new generation featured a lone 1 GB model in a silver brushed aluminum case similar to the second generation iPod Nano and the older iPod Mini. The new model is less than half the size of the first generation model at 41.2 x 27.3 x 10.5 mm (1.62 x 1.07 x 0.41 in), and is of the iPod Radio Remote available for iPod Nanos and 5th generation iPods. Apple claimed it was the "world's smallest MP3 player". This size includes the new built-in belt clip; the actual unit itself is thinner, with the entire device weighing only 15.5 g (0.55 ounces). The power/shuffle/no shuffle switch from the first generation version was separated into two controls to avoid a accidentally selected mode of operation. The formatting of the iPod itself is new to Apple, as the 2G (2nd Generation) shuffle will only format itself to FAT32. iTunes issues a warning that the iPod is incorrectly formatted if brought to the Macintosh format HFS+. All previous iPod models have allowed the usage of either the Mac format or the Windows format.

On the second generation iPod Shuffle, USB connectivity is provided via a included piece of hardware which acts as a docking station for the transfer of data and the recharging of the iPod's internal battery through its headphone jack. The second generation iPod Shuffle is also able to act as a flash drive, just like the first generation iPod Shuffle. However, unlike the first generation iPod Shuffle, the second generation does not have a built-in USB connector. This means that the docking station is required for connection to a computer on the second generation model.

The second generation shuffle can play MP3, MP3 VBR, AAC, Protected AAC, Audible (formats 2, 3 and 4), WAV and AIFF. Due to its low processing power the only iTunes-supported file format that the iPod does not support is Apple Lossless. Using large file sizes inherent of WAV or AIFF files will very quickly fill the device's low 1 GB capacity. iPod Shuffle cannot play music from music video files.

On January 30, 2007, Apple announced the addition of four new colors to the iPod Shuffle line. Pink, orange, green, and blue choices have been made available via retailers and the Apple Store (online) in addition to the original silver color. The colors blue, green, and pink are essentially the same hues as the second generation iPod Nano and iPod Mini. The new orange color is a first for the iPod franchise. They also now come with the new redesigned headphones that were not included with the original silver model. The box was also changed to have gray text instead of the lime-green text; lime-green text indicating that the original headphones are included, gray text indicating that the new headphones are included.

On September 5, 2007, Apple refreshed the line with four new colors including a Product Red version. The new colors are turquoise, lavender, mint green, and Product Red, with the previous colors orange, blue, green, and pink being discontinued.

At the Apple Let's Rock Event on September 9, 2008, Apple released four new colors for the iPod Shuffle: blue, green, pink, and red.

In June, 2009, Avon offered a gold iPod Shuffle (second generation) for $29 when purchased in conjunction with select fragrances.

The second generation 2 GB iPod Shuffle was discontinued on March 11, 2009 and the 1 GB version was discontinued on September 9, 2009.

Third generation

A Third generation iPod Shuffle.

The third generation iPod Shuffle was released on March 11, 2009 and is said by Apple to be "jaw-droppingly small" and "The first music player that talks to you" with dimensions of 45.2 x 17.5 x 7.8 mm (1.8 x 0.7 x 0.3 in). It is available with a silver or black brushed aluminum case similar to the second generation iPod Shuffle. This makes it the first iPod Shuffle that is available in black – although the black is more of a dark grey, especially in comparison to the black iPod Touch. It features VoiceOver technology that allows song names, artist names, album names and playlist contents and names to be spoken in 20 different languages using the Text-to-Speech incorporated in iTunes 8 and 9. It also has gained support for multiple playlists, in contrast to previous versions of the iPod Shuffle, which allowed only a single playlist.

The third generation iPod Shuffle features a polished steel attachment clip (very strong), adopting for the first time the polished steel finishing previously found only on the larger iPods, rather than the brushed aluminum used in the second-generation iPod Shuffle. It also no longer has volume or track controls on the device itself. Instead, the packaged iPod earbuds now include a three-button device on the right earbud cord. This adds the functions of changing between playlists, hearing the song title and artist of the track playing, as well as play/pause, track changes and volume control. It is not possible to change songs or volume with current third-party headphones, since they lack these controls. However, since the iPod Shuffle begins playing music automatically when it is turned on, third-party headphones may still be used in "autoplay" mode (with no volume or playback controls). Some future third-party headphones and headphone adapters will include full support for the iPod Shuffle. The official headphones contain a chip designed by Apple to control the device. DRM is not however present in the chip as there is no encryption used; third-party headphone manufacturers can reverse-engineer the chip although this will not enable their products to ship under the Made For iPod program.

On September 9, 2009, Apple introduced three new colors for the iPod Shuffle: pink, blue, and green. The 4 GB model is also available in Polished Stainless Steel, exclusively from the Apple Store.

Impact

The iPod Shuffle was announced at the same time as the Mac Mini. Like the iPod Shuffle, the Mac Mini is a scaled-down product which has been introduced at a lower price point. These two products together can be seen as a conscious effort on the part of Apple management to target a lower-end market and increase visibility in the mass-market. Previously, the success of Apple's iPod and especially the iPod Mini had been chipping away at the inexpensive flash player market, causing flash players at the beginning of 2005 to account for less than half the market share they did in 2004. However, the original and Mini iPods were costly and the Shuffle was intended to make the iPod compete with mainstream players.

By April 2005, the end of Apple's second fiscal quarter, the iPod Shuffle had already proven itself to be a successful product for its manufacturer. Although Apple has chosen not to specify how many iPod Shuffles were sold in the product's first three months of existence, analysts at Piper Jaffray estimated that 1.8 million of the 5.3 million iPods sold in the second quarter were Shuffles. NPD Group estimates that the iPod Shuffle captured 43% of the flash-based music player market in February 2005, after only its second month of existence. By March 2005 the iPod Shuffle's market share had risen to 58%.

In September 2006, Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced during his keynote presentation on the "It's Showtime" Special Event, that until then, Apple had sold 10 million first generation iPod Shuffles.

Criticism

Blinking light problem

PC World reported a problem with the first-generation iPod Shuffles ceasing normal function, only to flash orange and green lights and become unmountable. Since the Shuffle has no display, the owner can't read an error message or troubleshoot easily, requiring diagnosis by Apple service personnel. Flashing green and amber lights on the iPod Shuffle indicate that a generic "error" has occurred, according to Apple's documentation. If the device is still covered by warranty, Apple will replace it for free. This problem has also occurred on second generation iPod Shuffles.

On October 26, 2006, Apple released an iPod Shuffle Reset Utility that corrected this problem for some owners of first-generation iPod Shuffles. Then, in March 2007, an updated iPod Reset Utility was released which can also address similar problems with second-generation iPod Shuffles. The reset utility has not currently been updated by Apple to run on Windows Vista.

Generation 3 headphone controls

Unlike most other portable audio players, the iPod Shuffle's controls are situated on the packaged headphones. One will be unable to control the device unless they use either Apple headphones designed for the 3rd-generation Shuffle, or third-party headphones or adapters that must be licensed by Apple. The 3rd-generation iPod Shuffle's headphones contain a proprietary integrated circuit. Also, inline control adapters that were made by third party companies for use with the iPhone and iPod are incompatible with the iPod Shuffle.

There are currently two options for 3rd-gen iPod Shuffle owners to use third-party headphones: Belkin's iPod Shuffle Headphone Adapter or the Scosche tapSTICK.

Apple has also had numerous customer complaints regarding the headphones shorting out while the user is working out. There is currently no sure-fire solution for the problem, although several suggestions have been submitted by customers on the Apple forum.

Timeline of compact iPod models
See also: Timeline of full-sized iPod models and Timeline of iPod models and related products Sources: Apple press release library, Mactracker Apple Inc. model database

External links

• Official iPod shuffle Website
• Apple website