Product ReviewsApple iPod shuffle 1st Generation White (512 MB)

Super Original Product - Simple and true

Have had one of these for years and love it because it does just what I want it to do and that is "play my music" no bells and whistles just a simple mp3 player. So when I saw this on Ebay I decided to get another one. Went to big store to buy MP3 player and OMGoodness so many buttons to use, or tiny little push things on the side and unless you are 20 years old and have 20-20 vision you need a magnifying glass to see what they do, then press the + button and hold for 10 seconds not to increase sound but just to make it play. So glad I got this simple one from Ebay love it. Just had to hook it up to PC ITunes go to Reset, check to make it is empty and import your own music. Soooo easy, and it 's Apple the sound is fantastic. Thank you Ebay and of course person making it available. Read full review...

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: abcjim

Unable to use

I bought this ipod because the previous one I had stopped charging. I absolutely love this model. But now I am unable to do anything with it because there is no software for me to use with it. I tried to Google how to download software with no luck. I know this is a very very very old ipod, but I still love it. My computer just won't do anything with it and it is very disappointing.Read full review...

iPod Shuffle (1st generation)

One of the first iPods I tried using when It was new (back in the white iPod days). It was a great device for it's simplicity, and the built in USB was a nice feature. However, I went with an Ipod Classic (video) at the time mainly because of large storage and a screen for play-lists. I just recently re-purchased a shuffle for my car, it's simple to just snap in some songs quickly from my work iTunes and pop it in my car for some quick jams. Here is the best part about the 1st gen shuffle, which is why I took it over the latest Shuffle was mainly the built in USB and the fact that a 10 dollar iPod getting stolen or misplaced is not going to hurt like losing my brand new 4th gen iPod Touch or my Classic would. The sound quality is also comparable to my iPod classic, as the new iPods have a more degrading sound quality since.

The cons is mainly the very low capacity, but for my intentions it is great for some quick music and losing it would not really matter.

My grading

Pros
-Great sound quality for an iPod, expecially with the dismal sound quality from the current iPod family.
-Age does not really matter in this case, the battery can easily be replaced and the built in USB is a no-brainer for on the go nuts like myself.

Cons
-No Clip on like the newest shuffles
-No Playlisting and voice over.
-No screen.
-If you don't like iTunes, the competition for a latest shuffle is overkill. Just look at Sandisk's players. If you want the latest new shuffle just for the design, do yourself a favor and get something with A LOT more features and night and day sound quality. Getting iPods is mainly for the established iTunes library.Read full review...

iPod Shuffles While Other MP3s Dance

The iPod shuffle is an amazing device, if you are comparing it to a portable DVD player or the original Sony Walkman that started the whole portable music revolution. The shuffle is slim, sexy and slips easily into a pocket or purse. These features, coupled with it being an Apple product that is selling for half the cost of the original iPod, has made it an impulse buy for many people.

For those who take the time to do a detailed comparison with other digital music / MP3 players, the Shuffle starts to look a little anemic and less of a value.

The Pros (Positives)

+ It Sounds Great! The original iPod as well as the iPod Mini have gotten bad marks for low-end (base) output. The shuffle makes even the lower-end earbuds it comes with sound super. Higher end earphones sound fabulous!

+ The four-way rocker plus pause/play switch on the front is convenient and simple to operate. The same can be said for the two position power switch and battery-check button on the rear.

+ The Shuffles .08 Ounce weight and lipstick-on-steroids size make it extremely easy to take with you.

+ Because the iPod Shuffle IS an Apple, technical and 3rd-party product support is strong.

Cons (Negatives)

- No Display! No Display! No Display! Can you tell I think this is extremely important? Without a display and no way to select individual songs or play lists or even tell the status of your battery at a glance, the Shuffle is crippled in comparison to even some of the $39.95 memory-stick players on the market.

- Low Comparable Value. There are a large number of similarly-sized players available, with additional features like A Display, FM Radio, WMA and open MP3 support, for as little as $49.95. To view a list of eBay auctions for 512M players that fit this description, use the following path and search criteria:

Buy Consumer Electronics MP3 Players & Accessories Search for 'mp3 player 512'

- Proprietary Software / Format(s). The Shuffle comes with a customized version if iTunes that locks you into the iTunes site for music downloads. Although iTunes has a lot to offer, I would rather have an MP3 player that was WMA (Windows Media Audio) compliant. The WMA standard is supported by many Online Music Vendors, as well as an increasing number of audio blog sources.

If you’re a Mac user don't think you need a Mac MP3 player! Many other MP3 players support BOTH Macs and PCs.

- Limited Color Choices. 'OK,' I admit it's not that big a deal. Still, with other vendors I can choose to give my girl/girlfriend/wife her favorite hot pink color MP3 player, give other people yellow, green, blue, etc. and get myself the sleek black color I prefer.

The iPod Shuffle demonstrates that affordable and useful personal electronics can come in a small and attractive package. For me, the Apple name is not enough to justify spending more for fewer features!Read full review...

What's not to like?

I got an iPod Shuffle as a present and have totally loved it. There are few companies that can provide unique product design combined with ease of use and functionality.

Sound quality on the Shuffle is great, and comes with a comfortable set of headphones which provide decent sound quality.

The Shuffle is very durable, extremely light, and there are a huge array of accessories from holders to arm band thingies.

So what's not to like? Well... despite as cool as it looks, functionality wise it's pretty limited. I recently bought my wife a Sandisc player because it had some features the Shuffle doesn't. Namely:

- Display
- Microphone/Record
- More capacity
- Replaceable Battery

When your Shuffle's battery eventually dies you have to mail it to Apple to have it fixed, which is inconvenient. The other thing about iPod's in general is that the iPod format isn't the most optimal for space; other devices that are Windows Media based can hold more songs.

But all in all, not bad. The Shuffle is more than just a player, but is also a fashion piece.Read full review...

Great started ipod

My brother had been trying to get an iPod Shuffle for months so pick one up (512 Mb version) from the Pasadena Apple store for $99.

What is iPod Shuffle?

The Apple iPod Shuffle is a small MP3 player that has no screen of any kind and stores songs in the MP3, AAC, protected AAC (from iTunes store) or WAV format in the internal flash memory. The iPod Shuffle is available in 512-MB and 1-GB flavors.

Pros
Looks cool, tiny, easy to use, good sound, inexpensive, no skipping, battery life

Cons
iTunes deletes songs in Shuffle if they are not in the Library, flat main switch

The Bottom Line
The cons are small and the pros are in the important areas of performance. I highly recommend the iPod Shuffle. Just don't expect too much.

Overall, the iPod Shuffle is a very intriguing offer, especially at the entry price of just $99. But as always, you get what you pay for – and you end up paying for a device that holds 120 songs, doesn’t have an LCD, doesn’t have an AM/FM tuner, can’t record anything and costs more than similar players from rival companies. Some key accessories are sold separately and at a steep price. Unless you want a companion for your workouts that is the pinnacle of sleekness, I’d stay away from this one. I’m confident that the 20 GB iPod would be a better choice for most people.Read full review...

Shuffle = Slick and Snazzy... but not my favorite.

When the iPod Shuffle arrived, it was Apple’s response to the wave of flash MP3 players taking a share of the market – the iPod of course was a bigger success than anyone could have imagined, but it was still too large and bulky for the active user (someone wanting to take it on a jog, use it while spinning, etc). The Shuffle was supposed to be Apple’s claim on this segment of the market – light, portable and durable MP3 players that value portability over functionality.

The trouble however is that the Shuffle compromises too much on functionality – personally, I don’t get very excited about an MP3 player:

1) without an LCD screen
2) without playlist capability
3) that requires the use of a rope around your neck
4) an armband (essential) for athletic use costs an extra ~$30

This doesn’t bother many people – and if it doesn’t bother you, than the Shuffle is a great choice. Personally, I think the design of the Shuffle is super cool and typical Apple. However, in terms of portable flash players, my prefence is the Rio Forge series and there are lines of plenty of other alternatives. All cost less and, in my opinion, are better values.

While my clear preference for these kind of MP3 players is not the Shuffle – I can’t help but leave positive reviews for its sleek, different and sexy design – which certainly is enough of a selling point for many consumers.

My advice – think about what features and functions you want in an MP3 player before buying.Read full review...

iPod shuffle: compact, simple ipod, bargian price

I ordered the ipod shuffle for my daughter as a gift but ended up keeping it for myself because she wanted the nano.The shuffle is very compact, about the size of a small pack of stick gum, lightweight, easy to use and has the same sound quality as the new ipod nano we also purchased. The included earbuds are a bit uncormfortable in my opinion but are easily replaced. The only other disadvantage is not having any type of screen or display. I will mention that I ordered a factory sealed refurbished device and it seems like new. Overall, I am quite pleased with the purchase.Read full review...

Apple iPod shuffle (512 MB, M9724LL/A) MP3 Player

Product MPN
MPN M9724LL/A
Key Features
Storage Capacity 512 MB
Number of Songs 120
Family Line iPod Shuffle
Main Storage Type Built-in Memory
Audio Capabilities
Audio Format MP3 • WAV • AAC
MP3 Bit-Rate 8 kbps - 320 kbps
Frequency Respone 20 Hz - 20,000 Hz
Screen
On Screen Display Playlist / Table of Contents • Play Mode
Connectors
Interface USB 2.0
Outputs Headphone Jack
Other Features
Additional Features Upgradable Firmware
Power Supply
Power Source Rechargeable via USB cable
Battery Life 12 hrs.
Dimensions
Width 0.98 in.
Depth 0.33 in.
Height 3.3 in.
Weight 0.78 oz.
Warranty
1 Year
Miscellaneous
Product ID 23509199
Release Date 11 February, 2005

The iPod Shuffle, a flash memory-based digital music player based on iPod's shuffle feature which lets users "experience their music in a million different ways." Smaller and lighter than a pack of gum, iPod shuffle comes with its own lanyard so it's ready to wear right out of the box. iPod shuffle works seamlessly with iTunes' AutoFill feature which automatically selects songs from a user's music library to fill up iPod shuffle with just one click. iPod shuffle is the most affordable iPod ever.Read full review...

iPod shuffle?

Bought this player for my elementary school-age daughter for Christmas; I specifically wanted the original iPod for her because the new iPod is SO tiny I was afraid she'd lose it. It holds plenty of songs for her, and is easy to use; both listening & loading the music files are simple. I had to find a different pair of earbuds simply because the standard issue ones were uncomfortable for her small ears.The sound quality is good but not fabulous; and this particular player doesn't seem to shuffle the music selections...looked in the instruction manual & couldn't find how to turn the shuffle feature on or off- so will have to search elsewhere for this info. Good product for the money I spent, and for a player that may get beat up or used hard.Read full review...

Very Good Thing To Get!

Pros:

1. Price - The iPod Shuffle is cheaper than most flash-based MP3 players having the same amount of memory.

2. The famous iPod elegance and simplicity - all iPods are designed so well, are easy to learn and a joy to use.

3. Size/weight - even compared to other flash-based players, the iPod shuffle is small and very, very light.

4. Plays AAC files - This is the real selling point for people who already own iPods and have a substantial library of music already in AAC format. You might not feel too comfortable bringing your $300, 6-ounce iPod to the gym, with its delicate hard drive and other moving parts. Now you can load 6 or more workouts' worth of tunes onto a device that weighs less than 1 ounce and has no moving parts. While there are many such flash-based players on the market, the iPod shuffle is the only one that can play tunes from your existing collection of iPod-friendly AAC files.

5. Amazing sound quality for such a tiny device - I've done careful A/B comparisons between my iPod shuffle and my "big" iPod (which has awesome sound quality), and it's extremely hard to detect any difference in sound quality.

Cons:

1. No LCD display to help you navigate among the songs on the player. In my view, this will be the deal-killer for many people who would otherwise buy an iPod shuffle in a heart-beat. Say you load 100 songs on your iPod shuffle. Once you unplug it from your computer, the only way you have to navigate to a specific song is to keep forwarding to the next song until you find the one you want. What a pain! Those clever Apple marketing folks have tried to put a positive spin on this, saying "Random is the new order" and calling the player "the iPod shuffle." But people aren't stupid. Anyone familiar with flash-based players knows that almost all of them have displays to help people quickly navigate among the tunes on their player.

2. No FM tuner or voice recorder. Many other flash-based MP3 players have these features (though none as inexpensive as the iPod shuffle).

3. Battery life rated at "up to 12 hours" is low for flash-based MP3 players. Competitors typically achieve 15-20 hours. However, to be fair to the iPod shuffle, the competing models usually require you to use AA or AAA batteries, which adds to the weight of the device.

OTHER THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

Despite its name, the iPod shuffle does not force you to listen to your tunes in random order. Using the iTunes software on your computer, it's easy to create a playlist or download specific songs you choose to your iPod shuffle, and then listen to them in the order in which they were downloaded to the player.

If you're not familiar with the iTunes software, let me tell you - it is very well-designed and easy to use. (If you'd like, you can download it free from itunes.com and start using it now, before even buying an iPod, to see how you like it!) iTunes makes it easy to manage your library of MP3 and AAC files, and download and manage the music on your iPods. iTunes is also your portal to Apple's online music store, where you can download almost any song for 99 cents or almost any album for $9.99. However, the iTunes software does NOT push you to shop at Apple's online music store - you don't ever have to see if if you don't want to.

Now that I've lived with my iPod shuffle for a while, I've adapted to the lack of display, and really don't mind not having one. I also like the simplicity of the iPod shuffle.Read full review...

Apple iPod Shuffle 1st Generation

This is a nice little machine, is very durable, and very portable. These can be picked up very inexpensively here on eBay, and last for a long time. My favorite feature is the built-in USB connector. Very convenient for quick charges; no having to dig around for a cable. Another great feature is that this was made before Apple made all of their devices compatible only with iTunes; you can drag and drop your music into like most devices, which is very convenient if you don't have iTunes or just don't want to go through the hassle of adding music via iTunes. It can also be used as a USB flash drive. Overall, i give this a 9/10, only problem being that you cannot replace the batteries when they are no longer rechargeable.Read full review...