May 8, 2010 at 15:56IPod Shuffle 3G Review
iPod Shuffle 3G - the device is not new, but nonetheless very interesting.
The review is written after using the player for about a month.
In a small transparent box you can find:
The first thing that immediately catches your eye: the player is very small and thin:
When connecting the headphones, the plug completely merges with the body: The
mirror surface is a clothespin that allows you to attach the player to clothes.
If you make it a clothespin inside, then the player may not even notice.
If you look outside - the mirror with the Apple logo will shine beautifully - but be prepared for the fact that the mirror is very dirty and fingerprints are clearly visible on it even from a light touch.
At the end there is a headphone jack, a status indicator and a three-position switch:
On the headphones there is a control panel:
Height: 45.2 mm
Width: 17.5 mm
Depth: 7.8 mm (with clothespin)
Weight: 10.7 g
Capacity: 2 or 4 Gigabytes
Frequency response: 20Hz - 20 kHz
Supported audio formats: AAC (8 to 320 kbps), Protected AAC (from the iTunes Store), HE-AAC, MP3 (8 to 320 kbps), MP3 VBR, Audible ( formats 2, 3, 4, Audible Enhanced Audio, AAX and AAX +), Apple Lossless, AIFF and WAV
Frequency response: from 20 Hz to 20 kHz
Acoustic resistance: 32 Ohms
You can connect other headphones, but from the player control then only switching on and changing the mode will be available.
A lithium polymer electrolyte battery lasts ~ 10 hours.
Charging time: 80% in 2 hours, completely in 3 hours.
Physically, the player is connected using this adapter:
To download music, you need iTunes .
After starting the program and connecting the player, iTunes will offer to set the name and initial settings: After it will offer to download and install the Voice Over kit - the same system that will speak the names of the songs: Installation is quick and fully automatic: After the installation is completed, the player information window will be finalize it: the “Use as an external drive” checkbox will allow you to use the player as a regular USB flash drive on any computer - (this is not on the iPhone and iPod Touch), which is very convenient. Unless you have to carry a USB adapter.
A nice feature is also the ability to automatically pinch songs with particularly good quality to save space - 4 GB, although, in general, enough, but I would like more.
The synchronization window allows you to select genres, playlists and individual artists that will be downloaded to the player: The synchronization itself occurs quite quickly:
So, the music has been downloaded, now I want to listen to it.
This player, in addition to its size, is famous for a rather unusual control system.
In the instructions, for some reason, not all combinations are given.
The player has three modes - the player is turned off, the player plays songs in order, and in random mode. To switch between them, just slide the switch to the desired position.
It should be noted that after turning on the player will not hit the sound on the ears - the volume in the headphones increases gradually, the same when turned off. The indicator will turn green, orange, or red (depending on the percentage of charge) and turn off after a few seconds.
When you change the mode, the music will quietly quiet down by about half the volume, and a pleasant sound will be played.
If you turn off the player, and while the music is quiet, turn it on again - the player will voice the remaining battery percentage.
As it turned out, he does not synthesize it every time - there are several ready-made samples (Battery Full, Battery 75% and so on).
The remote control on the headphones has only 3 buttons - decrease and increase the volume, as well as the central button.
This button is the most important:
I can call a significant minus that there is no possibility of choosing a particular artist - i.e. If you want to listen to one specific group, you have to create for each separate playlist.
Despite the apparent complexity of management, getting used to it was easy. After any other player, such control seems incredibly convenient - you don’t need to go into your pocket to change the volume or switch the track, your hand easily rests on the remote control.
Of course, there are minuses too - it will be difficult to find a specific song - this player is unlikely to appeal to people who like to constantly choose which song to listen to next. Although for them there is a good option - to make a separate playlist with your favorite songs.
The player speaks the names of the songs quite legibly, supports about 20 languages, including Russian . Each language has its own voice.
As it turned out, the player’s task is only to play ready-made files with voice - iTunes generates them for all songs and playlists. For some reason, the files turned out to be in WAV format - if there are a lot of songs, then Voice Over bites off more than a dozen megabytes.
The player connects and works like a regular flash drive, while being simultaneously available for synchronization in iTunes, and like a regular drive in “My Computer”.
Speed tests showed the following:
Almost 3 (!) Times higher than upload!
The device is suitable for both an ordinary person and for someone who is actively involved in sports - a heavy smartphone can be broken, and something is unlikely to happen with a light player in a metal case.
And the way to control the player makes you perplexedly look at the times when in order to change the song you had to get a smartphone out of your pocket or feel for the buttons on the player’s case of another company.
The review is written after using the player for about a month.
Features of the device (briefly)
- Miniature size and weight
- Robust anodized aluminum housing
- No display, intuitive remote control via headphones
- The player pronounces the names of songs and playlists in a voice
- Good enough working time
Equipment
In a small transparent box you can find:
- Player itself attached to a transparent plate
- Headphones with remote control
- USB plug
- Description of the device in 3 languages (Russian, English, Polish)
- Short manual, also in 3 languages
- Two Apple Logo Stickers
Appearance
The first thing that immediately catches your eye: the player is very small and thin:
When connecting the headphones, the plug completely merges with the body: The
mirror surface is a clothespin that allows you to attach the player to clothes.
If you make it a clothespin inside, then the player may not even notice.
If you look outside - the mirror with the Apple logo will shine beautifully - but be prepared for the fact that the mirror is very dirty and fingerprints are clearly visible on it even from a light touch.
At the end there is a headphone jack, a status indicator and a three-position switch:
On the headphones there is a control panel:
Specifications
Player
Height: 45.2 mm
Width: 17.5 mm
Depth: 7.8 mm (with clothespin)
Weight: 10.7 g
Capacity: 2 or 4 Gigabytes
Sound
Frequency response: 20Hz - 20 kHz
Supported audio formats: AAC (8 to 320 kbps), Protected AAC (from the iTunes Store), HE-AAC, MP3 (8 to 320 kbps), MP3 VBR, Audible ( formats 2, 3, 4, Audible Enhanced Audio, AAX and AAX +), Apple Lossless, AIFF and WAV
Headphones with remote control
Frequency response: from 20 Hz to 20 kHz
Acoustic resistance: 32 Ohms
You can connect other headphones, but from the player control then only switching on and changing the mode will be available.
Nutrition
A lithium polymer electrolyte battery lasts ~ 10 hours.
Charging time: 80% in 2 hours, completely in 3 hours.
Computer connection
Physically, the player is connected using this adapter:
To download music, you need iTunes .
After starting the program and connecting the player, iTunes will offer to set the name and initial settings: After it will offer to download and install the Voice Over kit - the same system that will speak the names of the songs: Installation is quick and fully automatic: After the installation is completed, the player information window will be finalize it: the “Use as an external drive” checkbox will allow you to use the player as a regular USB flash drive on any computer - (this is not on the iPhone and iPod Touch), which is very convenient. Unless you have to carry a USB adapter.
A nice feature is also the ability to automatically pinch songs with particularly good quality to save space - 4 GB, although, in general, enough, but I would like more.
Synchronization
The synchronization window allows you to select genres, playlists and individual artists that will be downloaded to the player: The synchronization itself occurs quite quickly:
Control
So, the music has been downloaded, now I want to listen to it.
This player, in addition to its size, is famous for a rather unusual control system.
In the instructions, for some reason, not all combinations are given.
On and off
The player has three modes - the player is turned off, the player plays songs in order, and in random mode. To switch between them, just slide the switch to the desired position.
It should be noted that after turning on the player will not hit the sound on the ears - the volume in the headphones increases gradually, the same when turned off. The indicator will turn green, orange, or red (depending on the percentage of charge) and turn off after a few seconds.
When you change the mode, the music will quietly quiet down by about half the volume, and a pleasant sound will be played.
If you turn off the player, and while the music is quiet, turn it on again - the player will voice the remaining battery percentage.
As it turned out, he does not synthesize it every time - there are several ready-made samples (Battery Full, Battery 75% and so on).
Navigation
The remote control on the headphones has only 3 buttons - decrease and increase the volume, as well as the central button.
This button is the most important:
- 1 click - stop or start playback
- 2 clicks - next song
- 3 clicks within 6 seconds after the start of the song - previous song
- 3 clicks - start the song again
- 1 click and delay - fast forward
- 2 clicks and delay - rewind
- ~ 2 seconds delay - the player speaks the name of the song, artist and album
- A delay for longer - the name of the song, a sound signal and the transition to navigation through playlists:
I can call a significant minus that there is no possibility of choosing a particular artist - i.e. If you want to listen to one specific group, you have to create for each separate playlist.
Despite the apparent complexity of management, getting used to it was easy. After any other player, such control seems incredibly convenient - you don’t need to go into your pocket to change the volume or switch the track, your hand easily rests on the remote control.
Of course, there are minuses too - it will be difficult to find a specific song - this player is unlikely to appeal to people who like to constantly choose which song to listen to next. Although for them there is a good option - to make a separate playlist with your favorite songs.
Voice over
The player speaks the names of the songs quite legibly, supports about 20 languages, including Russian . Each language has its own voice.
As it turned out, the player’s task is only to play ready-made files with voice - iTunes generates them for all songs and playlists. For some reason, the files turned out to be in WAV format - if there are a lot of songs, then Voice Over bites off more than a dozen megabytes.
Using the player as a USB flash drive
The player connects and works like a regular flash drive, while being simultaneously available for synchronization in iTunes, and like a regular drive in “My Computer”.
Speed tests showed the following:
Upload to player:
Download from player:
Almost 3 (!) Times higher than upload!
Conclusions and impressions
Pros:
- A huge plus - lightweight, small, durable
- Convenient management
- Voice over
- It works like a flash drive
- Good sound quality for the average listener
Minuses:
- Lack of display - hard to find the song you want
- Non-standard connector - for use as a flash drive you need to carry an adapter with you
- The lack of an adapter for charging in the kit - i.e. you can charge the player only from USB. If you want more, you have to buy a standard Apple USB adherent.
- Lack of support for flac (although, I do not consider it a serious drawback with this amount of memory)
The device is suitable for both an ordinary person and for someone who is actively involved in sports - a heavy smartphone can be broken, and something is unlikely to happen with a light player in a metal case.
And the way to control the player makes you perplexedly look at the times when in order to change the song you had to get a smartphone out of your pocket or feel for the buttons on the player’s case of another company.