iPod Shuffle.... yey or ney?

whiskeyman

Hi all,
Not sure if this was a computer / music / devices topic.

Just want to know if anyone has an iPod Shuffle and if its good.

Here's my situation - My CD walkman is on its last legs, so I need a music device replacement.
However, I dont want to spend more than E120 - dont even try and tempt me with a full blown iPod... I think the new range of mobile phones will just take over from them, so I couldnt be arsed spending that much.


I'd be mainly using it to and from work (1 hr each way) and would have access to a PC at either end.
Is the iPod shuffle for me?

Anything else out there?

cheers!

Dades

I never liked the idea of shuffle until last week when I set my 20gig player to shuffle by accident - now I think it's great!

If you want to listen to a new album only, I guess you can just load that album on it's own.

Think you might be a while waiting for the phones - and they will be v. pricey to start.

The Gadgets board would probably have been the place to look or ask-theres proably a thread or two on the shuffle player there if you search.

I've a 20 gig ipod and love it , but there are players out there that others prefer for various reasons.
Shuffle is great, but then since all the music you like is on your own player, of course a random shuffle selection would be good.

whiskeyman

cheers for the info.
It sounds great, but I just didnt want to get it and then realise some flaw that has been overshadowed by all the hype.
Seems like I probably will part with my hard earned cash for it.

Fanny Cradock

if its only for an hour each way you should consider this option

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=230037

holds 30 - 60 songs (song length and file type depending) and its only €28

might do the trick!

fletch

Are you not talkin about the iShuffle as opposed to a random play function on the iPod...i am confused

Basq

whiskeyman wrote:

cheers for the info.
It sounds great, but I just didnt want to get it and then realise some flaw that has been overshadowed by all the hype.
Seems like I probably will part with my hard earned cash for it.

whiskeyman, don't bother!

Pay the extra €20 or €30 and get the 4GB iPod Mini. They've been reduced now to make way for a new 8GB iPod Mini model.

Get them in 3G / O2 Stores! See thread about it here!

Girlfriend was considering getting an iPod Shuffle but the one thing that annoys me is the no screen. It's like taking a flaw and advertising it as a feature. What happens on the off chance that you want to a listen to an album in order (and it's somewhere in the M's).... you'll have to click through a hundred or so songs to get there.

So... basically, get the iPod Mini. 4 times the amount of space for an extra €20 or €30.. you'd be crazy not to!

whiskeyman

fletch wrote:

Are you not talkin about the iShuffle as opposed to a random play function on the iPod...i am confused

sorry for the confusion caused...
I meant the iShuffle..

whiskeyman

basquille wrote:

whiskeyman, don't bother!

Pay the extra €20 or €30 and get the 4GB iPod Mini. They've been reduced now to make way for a new 8GB iPod Mini model.

Get them in 3G / O2 Stores! See thread about it here!

Girlfriend was considering getting an iPod Shuffle but the one thing that annoys me is the no screen. It's like taking a flaw and advertising it as a feature. What happens on the off chance that you want to a listen to an album in order (and it's somewhere in the M's).... you'll have to click through a hundred or so songs to get there.

So... basically, get the iPod Mini. 4 times the amount of space for an extra €20 or €30.. you'd be crazy not to!

Cheers for the tip.... how much are they?
Are thought they were nearer E200?

The iShuffle is 99.... ur saying the O2 Stores are selling iPod minis for around 130?

Think thats a no brainer then

(oops - just saw ur link to the thread about the mini... thanks again!)

Mohanned

I say there is no point but thats me

Blisterman

You could get an MP3 CD play. The sony ones hold about 300 songs on a CD, which you can easily change. It's less than €100.
Of course it's much bigger than the ishuffle, but you can play regular CDs on it.

Fanny Cradock

it looks like those creative 128mb mp3 players for €28 have all been sold.

Basq

whiskeyman wrote:

Cheers for the tip.... how much are they?
Are thought they were nearer E200?

The iShuffle is 99.... ur saying the O2 Stores are selling iPod minis for around 130?

Sorry.. i thought you were going for the 1GB version... so you're going for the 512MB version of the iPod Shuffle? An extra €90 then and you could 8 times the space (give or take). It really depends on your situation. iPod Shuffle is a cool piece of kit... and if you won't use the 4GB, go for the Shuffle.

Best of luck with it!

whiskeyman

I forgot to add.... My PC is ancient, and I've Win 98 (home edition).
(I do have USB...)

Will it work?

*Angel*

Nope it's pointless, it doesn't carry that many songs, either get a proper ipod or a creative(make a change from all the ipods about). The whole point is to have all your songs at your fingertips, the ipod shuffle restricts this alot, yes you could change the playlists every night but it just seems too much bother.

StupidLikeAFox

yeah id recommend the ipod mini or creative micro or something. Your gonna get new cds and stuff and it would be a lot easier to just stick them on and have your whole collection there rather than chopping and changing.

The iShuffle sounds like a pricey alternative to listening to the radio tbh

whiskeyman

*Angel* wrote:

Nope it's pointless, it doesn't carry that many songs, either get a proper ipod or a creative(make a change from all the ipods about). The whole point is to have all your songs at your fingertips, the ipod shuffle restricts this alot, yes you could change the playlists every night but it just seems too much bother.

well, that's all I'm really looking for...
Dont want all my songs at my fingertips.... I still prefer listening to music at home on my hi-fi....
This is just for my work commute / travelling.

Just need to know if its Windows 98 compatible.... cant seem to find out anywhere online

--- Just found out iTunes isnt compatible with Win98...
Would have to buy some program called XPlay for $30
Screw that.. that puts my plans out the window for now!

spartacus93

Em I don't think iTunes works with win98. You can probably fill it with another Media Player (Win amp with a plugin) but you wont have the Autofill feature which makes the Shuffle better. It takes a selection of songs and puts them on the shuffle for you.

Adam

Agreed *angel*. I just got my hands on a twenty gig iPod. Up until then i was using either a minidisc player or a 256MB MP3 player, and being the music fr33k that i am i can never stand not having all the music in my possesion to play at whim! Its just so handy, you want certain music to suit a certain mood, and your never in the same mood on the way to and from school/work any day as you are the night before when you have to decide on approx. 70 songs for the folowing day! Drove me mad!

So in short, though i'm not trying to convince you to get a 20GB iPod, i would seriously recommend (sp?) you go with something larger, and as basquille said earlier, the lack of screen is a real downside, though you might not think it now, it will drive you barking mad after a day!!

My 2 cents.

whiskeyman

its must have been the Monday blues, but I was soo tempted to run out and get the Shuffle after work... retail therepy and all that.
Dont think I'll be doing that now.
Might as well invest a bit more dosh into a better gadget... ipod mini is looking tempting.
My crappy PC could do with an upgrade too..
Cheers for all the great feedback/info folks!

Deadwing

ishuffle..is that just a fancy term for random play?

timamansio

My two cent....if you're just looking for an mp3 player for walking to and from work/school, I'd go with the flexibility that a hard disk player (iPod, iPod mini, Creative Zen, etc.) will provide - actually, afaik the creative players are compatible with Win 98. However, if you plan to do any exercise that'd involve the player getting jostled around the place, go for a memory device (iShuffle, etc.).

Stompbox

I got an iPod Shuffle from America a month ago. It's brilliant!!!

lomb

but its more roadster than rolls

got to love apples crazy advertising, they are very good at it though.

http://www.apple.com/ipodshuffle/ads/320.html

dont mention anything about its failings, wonder why?

*Angel*

Deadwing wrote:

ishuffle..is that just a fancy term for random play?

Nope it's a new ipod stick thing, it's very small and only comes in 512MB/1G models.

Link: ipod shuffle

Ciaran500

whiskeyman wrote:

I forgot to add.... My PC is ancient, and I've Win 98 (home edition).
(I do have USB...)

Will it work?

iTunes will not work under Win 98 you will need to use a third party program.

PiE

*Angel* wrote:

Nope it's a new ipod stick thing, it's very small and only comes in 512MB/1G models.

Link: ipod shuffle

It's an iPod stick thing which is bandying about the "Shuffle" feature like it's something new. It's got no screen. NO. SCREEN. So if you get the 1gb version, you could be hitting that next track button for a fortnight before u find the song you want. Wow.

Get a Creative Muvo, won't have to bother with Apple/3rd Party transfer software and it has a wonderful screen.

CathyMoran

iShuffle is great - have one a few weeks now. It is really small and has a good battery life - the amount of songs that it carries is sufficient for most peoples day! I tend to change my playlist occasionally to ring in the changes but even if I do not feel like listening to a song there is always the skip button (which is raised so you do not need to look at your iShuffle)...well worth it.

JBoyle4eva

I was thinking myself of getting an iPod shuffle, but then again I use Windows media player and it converts to WMA: NOT SUITABLE FOR IPODS!

What other mp3 plyaers would you reccomend?

Blisterman

I have a creative Zen which is cool. You should just convert your music to MP3, snd you wont have any hassle.

Adam

JBoyle4eva wrote:

I was thinking myself of getting an iPod shuffle, but then again I use Windows media player and it converts to WMA: NOT SUITABLE FOR IPODS!

What other mp3 plyaers would you reccomend?

iTunes deals with WMA format, it automatically converts them for the iPod, and damn fast at that! The majority of my 5GB's of music in Windows Media Player was in WMA format and i imported the whole lot and put it on my iPod in under half an hour! Good show!

RicardoSmith

Can't understand why these things don't have a radio or can't record, from a mic or line in.

sleepwalker

i did recently had a discman on its last legs and honestly i think youd be better off just saving the extra money and getting a 20 gig or 40 gig iriver, have all the music you could possibly want plus an extremley good fm radio all in one

have a look around on ebay or thedvdforums.com or boards.ie sales board youll get one for 250-270 euro for 40 gig/ 200 for 20 gig

ionapaul

I got an iPod Shuffle about a month ago and am very happy - I would never NEVER pay more than €100 for a portable music device, don't care about a screen, would only use the shuffle feature while out and about anyway, and think 150 tracks (what I get on my shuffle) is more than I need! I think the others who recommend the larger iPods are more into their music, which is fair enough - the shuffle lacks many features but if your needs are similar to mine, go for the 512MB model.

Kingsize

why not just buy an mp3 compatible discman thingy ?you can pick one up in Argos or dixons for about 40 quid & fit 700MB on one cd & still play cds if the mood takes you ??

Dades

Every second person on the dart on the way into work either has white earplugs, or is reading The Da Vinci Code...

Be different.

Basq

Kingsize wrote:

why not just buy an mp3 compatible discman thingy ?you can pick one up in Argos or dixons for about 40 quid & fit 700MB on one cd & still play cds if the mood takes you ??

The friggin' size of them!

Like carrying round a frisbee with you... that skips!

whiskeyman

basquille wrote:

The friggin' size of them!

Like carrying round a frisbee with you... that skips!

lol!
Might get handy if I'm bored on the Luas... send my mate up the far end and chuck it!

I know we say otherwise, but size would be important.
The smaller the better in this case

*Angel*

The Atheist wrote:

Every second person on the dart on the way into work either has white earplugs, or is reading The Da Vinci Code...

Be different.

I agree, just get what suits you, not what everyone else has. I would have thought The Da Vinci Code phase was over now, haven't people realised that it's bad writing?

WizZard

Maybe these things suit a lot of people - which in turn leads them to becoming popular?

*Angel*

WizZard wrote:

Maybe these things suit a lot of people - which in turn leads them to becoming popular?

Well a lot of people can't really afford an ipod but get one for cos everyone else has one.

Dades

WizZard wrote:

Maybe these things suit a lot of people - which in turn leads them to becoming popular?

Absolutely. But iPods are soooooooooooo last year.

Peteee

Thing i dont understand about this whole 'shuffle' thing, on every walkman/minidisc player that ive ever used theres been a 'shuffle' or 'random' button on it. I've never used any flash based mp3 player so I dont know if they are the same but people talk about it as if apple invented the random playlist.

Adam

Yeah its truly ridiculous, every portable music player i've ever used, right fom the oldest discman, has had a shuffle button, it disgusts me that apple can make so muc money off something very old... And there are plenty of cheaper mp3 players out there with the shuffle option and the added bonus of a feckin LCD screen. Apple.. pfft, loadamearse!

talking_walnut

From what you're saying the iPod Shuffle doesn't suite you at all. Have a look at some other flash based mp3 players. There's thousands of them and I'm sure most of them will work better with your set-up.

Haven't heard much about the Shuffle (untill today I was only aware that it was Apple's new flash mp3 player) but it just seems like an new, naff marketing idea. People are just buying into it cause it's an iPod. Battery life seems crap again. 12hours on a flash player with no screen? Surely they can do better than that.
(edit: just spotted this. 50 hours playback on a single charge)

P.S It's not a good idea to convert from one lossy codec to another (ie. wma to mp3, etc.) as you'll lose a lot of sound quality

lomb

apple are excellent at marketing and indeed they have to be as most of their products except the latest 2g ipod mini dont stand up to any real scrutiny.
for example they say about their ibooks " on the internet in no time"
are they appealing to people who know nothing about computers? sure u only have to plug a ethernet cable into a windows laptop and its on the internet..............

JC 2K3

You should get a 512KB flash MP3 player, it'll have an LCD Screen, a shuffle option and equilizers etc. for much less than that piece of crap Ipod Shuffle. Oh and you just install the win98 drivers and drag and drop all your music onto it.

There's a company operating through ebay that sells them for good value, see:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=80019&item=5757759125&rd=1

There's loads of identical items from that company on ebay, it works out at about €60 inc. postage.