The Ipod shuffle 4th generation -a definite improvement

I love the shuffle. It's perfect for my use, particularly for my exercise routine and walking to work. But up unto now, it was difficult to really organize the material on the shuffle. In the past, I used Itunes to put my pod casts at the beginning or the end of my list so I could use the "3 tap return" (which didn't always work)to get to the beginning of the list. Now with the new shuffle, and its voice-over feature, that announce the pod casts and the song folders' names, you've organized, particularly when using the upgraded Itunes. Now it's very easy to locate the pod-cast or music you want. The voice-over feature also announces the song and artist you selected. It's 2 GB capacity gives you a lot of space for what you need.I currently have 3 books, 15 pod casts and 275 songs on mine. It's size and clip is great, but you have to be careful where you put it. I've lost two 2nd generation shuffles, so I'm going be very careful with this one. It's aluminium body is pretty much indestructible to falls, but don't leave it in your clothing and put it through the wash cycle, it might dry out and work again, but it might not. I keep mine in the same pocket in the backpack. I find the controls are very intuitive, just make sure you orientate the shuffle the same way on your clothing. The 3 way on switch is a bit difficult to set to the play in order setting. I cut about 1/3 off the price to $45 (not $65 in Canada with tax) by buying on Ebay, and found the manual on line. Overall, it's a great idea and a great mp3 player for my use, with much improved organization functions. Just be careful where you leave it. Or you'll be very sad, and keep it out of the wash!

Apple ipod shuffle 4th generation

Best thing since sliced bread. I have a passion for audio books. I get the cd's from my local library and upload them to my Apple ipod shuffle. Everything works flawlessly. The device is small enough to lose easily if you do not keep a close eye on it. Thus it travels in my change pocket easily. It is made of metal and is extremely durable. I have a hearing loss due to many years of loud machinery and wear hearing aids. This device punches out a lot of volume, so much so that I need only slightly over half volume to say it is loud. The voice over feature is simply magic. No longer must you peer into small screens to find what you wish to listen to, the device talks to you and announces the name and track of what is playing with just the touch of a button. When you fast forward or back up it will tell you each and every item so you stop where you want to. This feature is especially important if you are listening before you go to sleep as you can change tracks or play lists without the need to even open your eyes. What luxury! Battery life will last an entire day of listening with a single charge. I enjoyed my first unit so much I could not wait to get my wife one also. She is not a technical person what so ever, and likes the simplicity of one switch to turn it on and it begins playing. Press the center button and it will pause, press it again and it will resume. Shut off the device with the switch, and when you switch it on again it resumes the book right where you left off. Absolutely perfect engineering, flawless performance, a delight to use.

Great Bang for the Buck

Just what the Doctor Ordered ! This lightweight ipod clips onto almost anything and is easy to use. At 2 gb , it holds 500 songs. Battery lasts 15 hrs. The neatest thing is voice over. Tells you title and artist with touch of a button. Tells you playlist when you hold button down. 2 quick taps tells you how much battery left. I am amazed. I am from the 8 track era, this thing is a little bit bigger than a quarter. WOW!!! Highly recommend ! Next ipod almost 3 times the amount.This is BEST BANG for the BUCK !!!
PS: Apple revised firmware and now Ipod buttons can be locked down by holding Play/pause button down for 5 secs. You hear a double click. To unlock, reverse process. Thanks APPLE!!! Now its perfect !

Great music system-great design although proprietary.

Last Christmas my niece purchased one of these for my mother who was 86. It was my job to sort it out and load it with music for her. I was so impressed with what I was working with that I purchased one for myself this spring and have been enjoying it ever since. This compact 2GB music system has one in/out, an on/off switch and the famous apple control dial. Pros-compact, easy to use after your read what everything does, no batteries to replace. Great fidelity, ingenious compact design. Cons-Must have an I-Tunes account to sync and load music onto it. Will accept your CD's but you need to rip them into your I-Tunes library (must be in proper apple proprietary format). Sync cord is about an inch long. If you need longer you must buy one. Overall-A brilliant product but would be better if more compatible with other mp3 formats other than AAC. I do not agree with E-Bays star rating system that classifies anything under 5 stars as bad or failure. 3 and 4 star products are good but not perfect. I gave this product a 4 star rating because it is proprietary. It has performed brilliantly and done everything it said it would, and everything I needed it to do as an MP3 player. The problem is that I am a PC user and don't like that my 1000 + CD collection has to be reripped or converted for I-Tunes to load any of the songs onto this device.

SImply the BEST!!

I have always loved the iPod shuffle --- small, excellent battery life, and easy to use.

This latest generation is the best yet!! Buttons back on the device itself (thank GOD!), smaller size, 2GB of storage space and voice-over and playlist selectability. Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful.

If all you want is portable music, then this is absolutely the right MP3 player. Simply the best!