First came the iPod and then the lower cost smaller iPod mini. However to grab the remainder of the market Laptop Battery interested in an iPod, but cannot afford even an iPod mini, Apple has released its low cost iPod Shuffle. This player is roughly the size of a USB stick or stick of chewing gum, comes in 512MB and 1GB memory sizes, claims a 12 hour battery life and can shuffle its playback at the flick of a switch.

While the player does lack a display, Apple figured dell laptop battery that during the testing stage, they did not see it necessary and going by the review some people find it a pleasure to press play, pop the their player in their pocket and forget. As the iPod is a well known name, many people would purchase it anyway, while if a rival introduced a similar player, consumers would likely have treated it like a very basic minimal MP3 player.

Sound quality is like the other iPods with support for MP3, AAC, WAV and Audible, although AIFF and WMA are not supported. iTunes will accept unprotected dell 1691P battery WMA tracks also, but converts these to a suitable format prior to transfer. Even though the iPod shuffle lacks a display, the player tracks which tunes have been played, so if one encounters a track their either really dislike or want to know what it is called, they can find out later in iTunes. Finally, its buttons are a decent size unlike the miniature buttons found on some compact players and also features a keylock.

Many people listen to their digital dell Latitude C640 battery music in no particular order at all: album tracklists are becoming a thing of the past, 'shuffle' play (making random selections from a huge collection of hundreds or thousands of songs) is the norm, and to hell with imposed order. Apple, with the iPod Shuffle, says that's how life should be lived, and who are we to argue?

The Shuffle could be seen as the regression of the species. It's just a USB flash memory stick, after all, and so not much bigger - though harder to masticate - than a dell Latitude C610 battery stick of chewing gum, available in minty 512MB or 1GB capacities, both the same size, for £69 and £99, including VAT.

The packaging poses some questions to ask yourself, if you're short of them. "How does it know which song to play next?" Because it has an algorithm, you twit. The shocking thing about the Shuffle is the size, and lack of weight. You can really get all that music into that? Battery life is claimed to be 12 hours, recharged from the computer, though subject to slow death through recharging. At the price, it undercuts the majority of its Flash-based rivals, who have dismissed it as first-generation dell Latitude C600 battery product.

To whit, the lack of a display. You realise after a bit that having a display would be useful, though there's also some pleasure in having a player you can put into the coin pocket of your jeans and forget.

Read the full review here.

In my opinion, this player would likely suit those who generally randomise their music anyway, would rarely go about playing specific songs or drive a vehicle where looking at a display would too distracting. However, for those who like to group music by album or jump to specific tracks quite often, they would be better off with a player that features a display.

As all of Apple's iPods have an internal battery that only lasts an overage 1.5 years and can cost close to dell Latitude CPX battery the player itself for Apple to replace, it is not clear if it would be worth replacing the iPod shuffle's battery once it finally gives up or if it would be cheaper and quicker to simply get another player.