Thoughts on using the new shuffle

I purchased a new black iPod shuffle on the Friday after the announcement. The package arrived the following Tuesday after a short 21-hour trip from China. I put it to work the following day in the gym and have been using it regularly since. I have some firsthand thoughts, both good and bad.

Nothing I read about the size could really prepare me for how small this device is. I have a 2G shuffle, also. At the time I purchased that iPod, I couldn’t see how Apple could make it any smaller while still preserving its high usability. Really. It seems a bit naive now, given that I’ve been immersed in tech for so many years, but I thought that Apple had reached the minimal limits of usable device size in the 2G shuffle.

Man, was I wrong. The new shuffle is substantially smaller. It’s narrower and lighter. It’s now so thin that the lone factor preventing any future thickness reduction is the size of the audio plug. Despite the recognition of my own earlier naivete, I’ll say again that it’s hard to see how Apple could create a smaller usable device.

For now, the usability of the new shuffle isn’t really an issue. The fact that the controls are on the headphones doesn’t make the new shuffle any less usable than the older 2G. I’ve seen several harsh critiques of the shuffle, railing on the number of button-clicks required to navigate through songs and playlists. Honestly, the sequence of button-clicks on the headphones is just not that hard to remember. One click to pause or resume, two to skip forward, three to skip backward. Short hold for song title. Long hold for playlists. Seriously, it’s not that hard. I don’t have a problem at all with having the buttons on the headphones, though the placement is a bit close to the chin.

Though I don’t have an issue with placing the controls on the headphones, or with the number of clicks required to navigate the player, I’m not without headphone issues. For anyone who’s purchased a set of third-party ‘buds, the first issue is the most obvious. The sound quality of the stock Apple earbuds is just not up to par. The first time I fired up the new shuffle, I was stunned by how accustomed to good quality I’ve become with the Shures I received for Christmas. The stock Apple earbuds are all midrange, almost completely absent of highs and lows. The stereo image also seems inordinately narrow compared to other earbuds, though that might just be a transient side-effect of high midrange levels. Listening to the shuffle that first time, I did wonder if I’d made a mistake. In repeated use, though, my ear has adjusted a bit. They do seem a bit cleaner than they did initially. That said, I’d never recommend the purchase of Apple earbuds when so many other better options exist. The sound quality is a real negative to an otherwise strong player.

Of course, there’s another substantive objection to the shuffle earbuds. At this moment, they’re the only earbuds on the market that will control the shuffle. While the free market can be a wonderful thing, and third-party earbuds will certainly hit virtual shelves very soon, it’s a shame that Apple didn’t a) upgrade the quality of their own earbuds or b) release a control adapter simultaneous to the release of the shuffle. If the latter had been available, I’d have been able to plug in my Shures immediately. My overall opinion of the shuffle wouldn’t have taken the sound quality hit. In other words, I’d have given no thought to the quality of the Apple earbuds if I could have just plugged in the Shures. Instead, my own perception of the poor quality of the Apple earbuds has been reinforced by the need to actually use them to control the shuffle. So, vendor lock-in, even temporary, has a big downside for the manufacturer itself – the very folks who might expect to benefit from such lock-in.

As I noted, I’ve been using the shuffle regularly. It’s a great device for my use – on the treadmill or elliptical machine in the gym. In that environment, I want background music more to my personal taste than the 80s and 90s “classic rock” on the gym’s radio. The playlists I’ve selected to sync with the shuffle all meet that need, and meet it in a “no skip” way. I like all the music in the playlists and am really not inclined to skip from one song to the next. The VoiceOver feature makes it possible to find the right playlist for the mood, and to easily identify any song I might wonder about in the middle of a run. I can clip the shuffle on the pocket of my gym shorts or the bottom hem of my t-shirt and give it no further thought. In other environments – at work or at home – I listen to music on the iPhone because I want the all-in-one feature set. I don’t want to answer the phone at the gym, or check my email, or Twitter. Though I do have an armband case, when I’m on the treadmill, I don’t even really want the bulk of the iPhone. So, for my limited use, the shuffle suits my purposes perfectly. I suspect I’m not alone.

Overall, I like the shuffle. I’ll like it much more when a control adapter becomes available that will allow me to use it with good headphones. The design allows it to be, as noted by Technologizer, invisible. When I’m pouring sweat in the gym, focused on convincing my weak will that I really can make it through the next mile, it does exactly what I need in a way I can easily handle.