Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #510 in Consumer Electronics
• Brand: Apple
• Model: MC164QB/B
• Released on: 2009-09-09
• Dimensions: .2 pounds

Manufacturer's Description
iPod shuffle now comes in five vibrant colours. It’s available in 2GB and 4GB models. And it talks.

The world’s smallest music player
To create the world’s smallest music player, we moved the controls from iPod shuffle to the earphone cord. This makes iPod shuffle smaller than ever, and the controls are right where you can reach them. So when you want to play, pause, or skip to the next tune, you don’t have to fumble for your iPod shuffle — just follow the cord and press a button.

The first music player that talks to you
VoiceOver will surely be the next big hit on your iPod shuffle. Say you’re listening to a song and want to know the title or the artist. Just press a button, and VoiceOver tells you. You can even hear the names of your playlists. And when your battery needs charging, VoiceOver tells you that, too.

Easy-access controls
The controls are located on the right earphone cord. With command central strategically placed in this more convenient location, you can navigate your music — and activate the VoiceOver feature — without taking your eyes off your run, your ride, or whatever you’re doing. iPod shuffle includes these easy-access controls, but you can also use headphones with similar controls from manufacturers like Scosche, Klipsch, V-MODA, and Belkin.

Your music library. To go
iPod shuffle is now available in both 2GB and 4GB capacities. So you have plenty of room to store hours and hours of music — up to 1,000 songs with the 4GB model. That’s a load of essentials for your workout or commute. And there’s room for multiple playlists and audiobooks, too.

Multiple playlists
You’ve probably made multiple playlists in iTunes. One for your commute. One for the gym. One for just chilling out. Now you can sync playlists on your computer with iPod shuffle, and play the perfect mix for your activity or mood. VoiceOver tells you the name of each playlist, so it’s easy to switch between them and find the one you want without looking.

Let’s talk colour.
The anodized aluminium enclosure makes iPod shuffle sleek and durable. It’s even more colourful in gleaming pink, blue, green, black, or silver. Even the iPod shuffle clip rocks. It attaches securely to your shirt, jacket, workout gear, and backpack, making iPod shuffle the perfect fashion tech-cessory.

Multiple languages
A French love song. A Spanish bolero. An Italian cantata. Your music library has songs from all over the world. That’s why VoiceOver speaks 20 different languages. So it can tell you song titles and artists in the correct languages.

To shuffle or not to shuffle
The shuffle switch has three positions. Flip it to the left, and you’ll hear your music in a refreshingly random way. Flip it to the middle, and your songs play in order. Or flip to the right to turn iPod shuffle off.

What is VoiceOver?
You’ll never hear your music in the same way again, all thanks to VoiceOver. Say you’re listening to a song and want to know the title or the artist. With the press of a button, VoiceOver tells you without interrupting your music. It’s such a simple and clever way to navigate your collection, VoiceOver is entertainment itself.

And the fun doesn’t stop with songs. VoiceOver also tells you the names of your playlists, so you can easily switch between them to find the right mix for your mood. Without having to take your eyes off your run, your ride, or whatever you’re doing.

How VoiceOver works
iPod shuffle is designed not only to talk, but to say the right things. How is this possible? First, iTunes reads your song information, then uses the VoiceOver Kit to generate the announcements for the songs, artists, and playlists. Just sync your iPod shuffle with your computer and it really speaks to you.

After you sync your iPod shuffle, the voice you hear depends on which computer system you use. If you sync your iPod shuffle with a PC or with a Mac running Mac OS X Tiger, you’ll hear the English voice included in the VoiceOver Kit. And since Mac OS X Leopard and Snow Leopard have an amazing English voice built in, that’s the voice you’ll hear when you sync your iPod shuffle with a Mac running one of those operating systems.

Customer Reviews

Simples
I really don't understand the many gloomy and critical reviews of this product; when most of these are made about features that are blindingly obvious before you part with your money.
As an old fart who still plays vinyl records, this is my first introduction to the world of portable, digital music players and I have been delighted with it. The headphones are, indeed, not suitable if you want to run with the shuffle. (They fall out of your ears with little effort and I suspect that moisture or sweat would be a disaster for the control unit on the right headphone wire). Also, you are restricted to these headphones if you want to retain control over managing volume and movement between tracks. However, it is the work of a moment to set up a playlist, adjust the volume and plug in your preferred headphones. I can do exactly this and have used full circumaural SONY 'phones that the shuffle drives beautifully. If you don't want to run, the earphones provided are remarkably good for such a tiny and (relatively) cheap package. The sound quality from this miniature object is astonishing and the quantity of music that you can pack into it, unbelievable. The "voiceover" feature takes a little getting used to, but is remarkably simple and quick, once you have played with it for a while. As a staggeringly miniaturised music player that weighs almost nothing, looks cool and is very portable; this will take some beating. Incidentally, it's not really black but a sort of graphite/charcoal with a shiny stainless steel clip. Of course it's NOT a full-blown ipod and if you really need the features that so many reviewers are moaning about missing, then buy something else! Simples.