iPod shuffle 1GB (2g): Unboxing and First Impressions
I headed down to the Apple Store Bay Street in Emeryville, CA a little before 10 AM today to get my hands on the new second generation
iPod shuffle. Why? So you could experience the thrill vicariously, of course. When I arrived at 9:55, there were about 10 or so people
waiting for the store to open. Of course, when the doors actually opened it became clear that half of them were waiting for Genius Bar
appointments. Of the six of us that lined up at the cash register, three more were there to pick up orders of other stuff. Still, the
first woman in line bought six of the new $79 audio players, and $85.91 later (including 8.75% sales tax), I had one in my hand, too.
I'll be back on Monday with a proper review after having spent the weekend plugged into the new shuffle. Meantime, scroll past the pictures for my first impressions - including
the disappointing lack of a standard USB connector. Click on any picture to get the full-sized version.
Why are we suckers for attractive packaging?
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Everything that's in the box: Shuffle, dock, earbuds, instructions
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Back of integrated clip
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Docked
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Front panel
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Top view in dock. See the integrated clip?
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First Impressions
Surprise, surprise, the new shuffle is super-chic and feels great in hand. Where the original
shuffle was cute white plastic, the new one is sleek metal with white plastic accents that
look futuristic against the brushed silver panels. The new player is considerably smaller than
the first generation but retains the original control wheel (though with a metal play/pause button) along
with new bottom-mounted play mode and on/off switches. As a whole, the shuffle looks something like
a sawed-off nano (I think I'm lifting that description from some blog or another, but it's apt), minus
the screen.
The Good: Looks great, small, integrated clip is nice, metal construction feels good
and gives the iPod line a more unified overall look; Dock is cute and handy; 1GB for $79 is a better
value than original shuffle pricing.
The Bad: Proprietary dock connector means you can't use a standard USB connector to dock
or charge; Where's the Hold switch?; Word is the sound is inferior to the 1g shuffle.
