Ipod shuffle

[liltommy]

My wife just got me one for my birthday. I didn't realize the darn things were so small. I think I'm really gonna like this thing.

Anyways, does anybody have one and can you tell me how long the thing will run before it needs to be recharged.

Tommy

[tuba_transport]

My wife just got me one for my birthday. I didn't realize the darn things were so small. I think I'm really gonna like this thing.

Anyways, does anybody have one and can you tell me how long the thing will run before it needs to be recharged.

Tommy

I have a 4th generation and get 2 days or so of fairly heavy usage.

[crashmore]

Well I've run mine 10 ours plus without having to recharge it. I actually eally dig riding with it from time to time. I'll put one earbud in and leave and the other out so I can still hear what's going on around me. When I find myself riding solo the tunes help me keep a better pace.

My wife just got me one for my birthday. I didn't realize the darn things were so small. I think I'm really gonna like this thing.

Anyways, does anybody have one and can you tell me how long the thing will run before it needs to be recharged.

Tommy

[Dirt]

If you're going to ride with it, get the sports case for the thing. It costs a little, but it will protect the thing from sweat and other stuff that you might get in it.

I really love my shuffle. I use it all the time. Like Jason said, I get at least 10 hours of play time with mine before I have to recharge it.

My only complaint about riding with the IPOD shuffle isn't really a complaint of mine... it is a complaint of anyone within earshot of me. After so many years of karaoke, I just can't help but sing along while I'm riding. For that reason, I don't ride with the dang thing anymore.

Oh yeah. You'll probably want to find some other headphones for it. The ones that came with my shuffle were not too comfortable and didn't sound that great. I got some great Sony's for riding (they were cheap so it doesn't matter if I trash them) and some more expensive ones for when I use it in the office.

Take care,

Pete

[crashmore]

I couldn't agree more with the sports case and the headphones recomendation. I use the sony ones that slip over the top of your ear. I put one on and stuff the other down my jersey when riding. Seems to work well for me.

If you're going to ride with it, get the sports case for the thing. It costs a little, but it will protect the thing from sweat and other stuff that you might get in it.

I really love my shuffle. I use it all the time. Like Jason said, I get at least 10 hours of play time with mine before I have to recharge it.

My only complaint about riding with the IPOD shuffle isn't really a complaint of mine... it is a complaint of anyone within earshot of me. After so many years of karaoke, I just can't help but sing along while I'm riding. For that reason, I don't ride with the dang thing anymore.

Oh yeah. You'll probably want to find some other headphones for it. The ones that came with my shuffle were not too comfortable and didn't sound that great. I got some great Sony's for riding (they were cheap so it doesn't matter if I trash them) and some more expensive ones for when I use it in the office.

Take care,

Pete

[themonkeyman]

How much does one of those cost?


Maybe looking into getting one, and am wondering about the dough--Thanks

[Dirt]

The 512MB version is $99. the 1Gig version is $149.

They're fabulous. To be honest, I stole Jason's wife's regular IPOD for a month. I hardly used it at all. I used the shuffle all the time. I eventually gave her ipod back because Jason threatened me.

The one benefit that the regular IPOD has over the shuffle is the ability to choose playlists and scroll through things a bit easier. The shuffle is either sequential or shuffle.

Hope that hepps.


Pete

[liltommy]

I took it out last night. Worked really great. The sound quality and volume are alot better than what I expected out of something so small.

Does anybody know if there are any other 3rd party applications for getting the songs on it. I really don't like the itunes program, and it will only load with xp. I'm still using '98 on my main computer.

Tommy

[themonkeyman]

Yikes, that't too much for me! :eek:

I thouhgt there was one for around $30 bucks. Is there? or am I confused?

Thanks for the info--G

[pepelkod]

Yikes, that't too much for me! :eek:

I thouhgt there was one for around $30 bucks. Is there? or am I confused?

Thanks for the info--G

Other brands are cheaper.

I got a rio forge 128M from woot.com. It was 50 but with rebate down to 30. Has FM radio and slot for sd card.

Check pricewatch.com. I recommend getting one with an additional memory slot if the mem is only 128 or 256. 128 only holds about 25 songs (mp3)

Also read reviews for compatability. Some cant play wmv or vbr files. Some can only play certain bitrate files.

[liltommy]

If you get one of these you better go ahead and get the sports case that they sell. Its a rip off but its better than frying the darn thing.

I guess if finally succumbed to the gallons of sweat i put out during my rides. I tried putting it in a plastic baggie but I guess it didnt work too well. Plus it looked kinda geeky riding around with a plastic baggy hanging around your neck.

[BadMammaJamis]

i got my wife the 1 gig for $124 plus 1.99 shipping from circuit city.com last month.

The 512MB version is $99. the 1Gig version is $149.

They're fabulous. To be honest, I stole Jason's wife's regular IPOD for a month. I hardly used it at all. I used the shuffle all the time. I eventually gave her ipod back because Jason threatened me.

The one benefit that the regular IPOD has over the shuffle is the ability to choose playlists and scroll through things a bit easier. The shuffle is either sequential or shuffle.

Hope that hepps.


Pete

[Squirrel Girl]

Anybody try listening to Audio Books on an Ipod Shuffle? Is 1GB enough to get a whole book on?

TIA,
SG

[crashmore]

1gb is more than enough but I don't really recomend it. I know Pete uses his to listen to audible stuff but I think the lack of a screen is a real pain in the butt. It'd also be pretty damn tough to refind your spot should you loose it. I'd recommend spending a bit more and buying a mini ipod if you're looking to do Audio books.

I'm a HUGE audiobook fan and between that and the podcasts I listen to the Ipod is one of my most used gadgets.

Anybody try listening to Audio Books on an Ipod Shuffle? Is 1GB enough to get a whole book on?

TIA,
SG

[Squirrel Girl]

1gb is more than enough but I don't really recomend it. I know Pete uses his to listen to audible stuff but I think the lack of a screen is a real pain in the butt. It'd also be pretty damn tough to refind your spot should you loose it. I'd recommend spending a bit more and buying a mini ipod if you're looking to do Audio books.

I'm a HUGE audiobook fan and between that and the podcasts I listen to the Ipod is one of my most used gadgets.Thanks for your info. The biggest thing that has stopped me thus far from getting an ipod is that I can't bring it into my office. My commute to work is short (unless it's rush hour), so I wouldn't use it then. I like to go au naturale (audibly) on bike rides. But I would like an ipod, so I'm just hunting for info.

Thanks!

[joep]

The one thing stopping me from getting an ipod is that they're based on a mini hard drive with moving parts. I heard that these things don't take well to sudden jolts and vibrations (e.g., rocky trails, rigid bike, crashes a lot). Anyone ever broken one this way? I think a flash memory player would suit me better.

[Dirt]

The one thing stopping me from getting an ipod is that they're based on a mini hard drive with moving parts. I heard that these things don't take well to sudden jolts and vibrations (e.g., rocky trails, rigid bike, crashes a lot). Anyone ever broken one this way? I think a flash memory player would suit me better.

The IPOD shuffle is the one you want. It is not based on a hard drive. It has a built in memory chip. With the sports case it is tough as anything. I wouldn't necessarily go swimming with it on, but this isn't MORS (Mid Atlantic Offroad Swimmers) so I guess you're okay.

The only problem that I have with mine after almost 5 months of hard use is that the USB plug end tends to slip out of the casing if I'm not careful removing it from the computer. As long as I take 5 seconds to remove it from the computer instead of 2 seconds, I'm fine.

I use mine all day at work and around the house when I'm alone. I average 8-10 hours of use per day.

The headphones that come with the shuffle are not very good, but they are EXTREMELY durable. If you're going to ride with it, I suggest you use the stock headphones. You can sweat through them till they sound horrible, hang them up to dry, then they're good as new. I've done this 100 times running.

I've got a set of Sony in-ear headphones that sound fabulous. I also was given a set of shure headphones that are rediculously expensive, but bring out EVERY nuance of the music that you're listening to. That is okay if your recordings are good. Music that I've digitally converted myself sounds great. Stuff that I've purchased on-line isn't good enough to use the shure headpones.

Audio books are GREAT for the IPOD Shuffle. I joined Audible.com and get 2 books per month (unabridged) for about $20. Their compression is pretty high, so the fidelity isn't great, but it is a book. I can fit 6 complete books on my 1gig shuffle. That comes out to between 60 and 80 hours of audio on a tiny little MP3 player.

The ONLY downside to using the shuffle is that you don't have a display to see what you're listening to or where you're shuffling off to. That doesn't bother me at all since I'm always doing something else while listening.

Oh yeah.. The price on the shuffles just went down. 512MB is $79 and the 1gig is $129. The sports case is $30. The sony in-ear headphones are $50. The Shure headphones range from $179-500.

I still get most of my music from I-tunes. It uses their proprietary encripted format. I don't really care about that. It is $1 per song or less if you buy a whole album. A friend has some Russian site that he uses that is amazing. He's found some really obscure stuff for me off of it. Songs are 25 cents. I can find out about that if you're interested.

Hope that helps.

Pete

[Dirt]

Anybody try listening to Audio Books on an Ipod Shuffle? Is 1GB enough to get a whole book on?

TIA,
SG

It depends on the format of the auido book. I've got close to 100 audio books. If they're ones I've ripped to MP3 myself and they're unabridged, then it fits most books under 400 pages. As I said in my previous post, I subscribe to Audible.com and their books are highly compressed. I can fit many books on my 1 gig shuffle.

Pete

[BadMammaJamis]

hmmmm... just playing the devils advocate again... but i wonder how many of you guys... ah... dont pay for your music. not that i expect any to say it...lol

HMMMM... funny how no one touched it...

[GoClipless]

According to a columnist from PC Magazine, the iPod Shuffle also has better sound quality then almost all other mp3 players. Apparently the sound quality of the regular iPod is average at best. You can read about it here: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1778968,00.asp

[DMarchy1]

i have a sandisk mp3 player its just the slightest bit larger then the shuffle and you can buy it in 256 512 and 1g. it cost around the same but it has a screen where you can select the song that you want andit also has many many features that the shuffle doesnt. the sandisk has a voice recorder on it and you can record hours and hours of voice and it wont interfere with the music. it comes with a case to protect it so you wont have to buy a case. it comes with a disk that you put into ur computer and it runs a program called music match and you can bring all of your saved music files to it and put it all onto the player and delete the stuff you dont want. not and ipod just as good or better but just a suggestion for anyone lookin at small AFFORDABLE mp3 players :D

[wayfarer2900]

I just got a Creative Zen Touch 20GB. Same storage space as an iPod but $100 cheaper! Plus I got nice headphones and a Belkin Tunecast II FM Transmitter. All this w. tax and shipping came to $280. 20 bucks cheaper than the trendy version of an mp3 player, and it sounds awesome! Don't waste your time with an iPod.

[crashmore]

Rumor has it Apple is going to be moving their Ipod Mini line to Flash Based memory. This could actually mean you'd get the best of both worlds between the regular and shuffle models. You'd get the battery life and durablity of the shuffle but a color screen and an expanded storage capacity.

Might be worth looking at when they hit.

http://www.thinksecret.com/news/0509ipod.html

As far as the Ipods vs other cheaper players, I think the software is so much better in the way of Itunes that it's worth paying a premium for.

[Squirrel Girl]

http://www.apple.com/ipodnano/

4GB ipod, color LCD, 1.5 oz, $250

[liltommy]

After frying my shuffle I found a forum for other shuffle owners. Seems they have a warranty program. Its seemed kinda like a scam. Go on there site and fill in the info, give them a credit card number and they send you out a replacement right away. If its under warranty, there's no charge. If it isn't, they charge you $119.00. Before hearing the prices had dropped I went ahead and did this.

Filed the claim on a Thursday evening, the new shuffle arrived at my office Friday morning. Put the old ipod in the self addressed prepaid package and dropped it off at a DHL center. That was it. They never contacted me saying if it was under warranty or what the deal was. I had to go back to there site and look at the dispatch number. The case was closed and they didn't charge my CC.

I wonder with what those 512mb units cost them, if they evan examine the old units.

tommy

[RetroG]

I had a problem with mine. They are sending a replacement as part of warranty. When I recieve it, I send back the broken camera. Only iffy part is they are sending me a refurbished camera that will still be under warranty. Guy promised the refurbished is quality inspected more so than the new. Whatever, I'd like to start over with a brand new camera, but we will see how this works.

Keep up the good blogging!

[cbuki]

i had used the original ipod for years running and riding. then got a shuffle prior to the wilderness 101. lightweight, great battery life, small - worked great!

on the ride back from pennsylvania to virginia though, my hammer gel flask leaked and emptied all over my ipod shuffle, and it sat that way in my gym bag for 2 days. i got ready to ride and opened my bag and discovered my ipod shuffle completely immersed in hammergel like a pancake in maple syrup.

i thought well its probably dead so water can't hurt. i ran it under hot hot hot water for 2-3 seconds, wiped it off, and it worked! and 2 months later still does!

[liltommy]

i thought well its probably dead so water can't hurt. i ran it under hot hot hot water for 2-3 seconds, wiped it off, and it worked! and 2 months later still does!

I heard a story where a guy washed his in the laundry, let it dry. And it worked fine. I sweat on mine and fry it. :confused:

A heads up, I tried putting mine in a sandwich baggie. Punched a hole in the top of it and ran the landyard through. The sweat still managed to get into it and instead of evaporating away it just soaked in there.

I guess I'm gonna bit the bullet and get the sports case.$30.00 :eek:

[Buddylee]

hmmmm... just playing the devils advocate again... but i wonder how many of you guys... ah... dont pay for your music. not that i expect any to say it...lol

HMMMM... funny how no one touched it...


I have a shuffle, i love it. I actually don't download any music except from iTunes, and that isn't often. I really like having CD's of all my music to enjoy in my higher end system at home, mp3's are great, but the quality isn't THAT good. I have turned all of my 800 or so CD's into mp3's though. So i can fill up with all my favorites without having to carry 20 cd's everywhere i go.

I will admit to getting a few albums or sharing a few with a friend, but we decided a long time ago that was as far as we would go with it.