The 3rd
Generation iPod
Shuffle wasn’t
the best iPod
out there. It
wasn’t even
better than the
previous version
of the Shuffle.
The 3rd
Generation
Shuffle was
roughly the size
of a set of
fingernail
clippers and had
no buttons to
control it with.
You were
expected to
control the
unit’s volume
and everything
else with the
updated ear
buds, that have
volume and
button controls
on the cord.
This didn’t work
out for a couple
of reasons- if
you lost ear
buds you
couldn’t replace
them on the fly
with just
anything. The
other problem
was it relied on
the tiny remote
too much. A
general rule is
if takes more
than ten uses to
get the hang of
the controls…
something’s
wrong.
The most updated
version of the
shuffle fixed
the issues with
the last unit by
combining what
was good about
it with the ease
of the 2nd
Generation
shuffle. Now you
don’t just have
the ability to
control what’s
playing with the
new ear buds,
you have a HUGE
control pad that
lets you control
what’s playing
and how it’s
playing with
ease.
The control pad
is the highlight
of this 4th
Generation iPod
Shuffle. It’s
17% bigger than
the previous
versions and it
has an extremely
nice clickable
interface. You
can easily
navigate
playlists and
songs and adjust
the volume
easier than
you’ve ever done
before.
In addition to
the clickable
control pad,
you’ve also got
a voice-over
button with the
new iPod
Shuffle. Anytime
a song is
playing and you
can’t remember
the name of the
artist or the
title, you can
hit the voiced
over button-
just once- and
it will give you
the artist and
title of the
song that’s
playing. It
supports 25
different
languages and it
doesn’t just say
some things… it
says everything.
And perhaps even
cooler than the
different
languages and
the ease of the
voice-over
button- this
time it works
with most output
devices,
headphones, ear
buds, and
speakers. That’s
something that
couldn’t be said
with the last
version of the
device.
The control pad
is great, and
the ease of the
new voice over
button is cool
too. But the
battery life is
the best feature
on this Shuffle.
You can play up
to 15 hours of
audio with
one-complete
charge. That’s
far better than
any previous
version of the
Shuffle.
The other great
new feature with
the 4th
Generation iPod
Shuffle is the
new heavy-duty
clip on the back
of the device.
It’s made of a
single piece of
aluminum so
there aren’t a
lot of problems
connecting it to
a shirt or a
coat. It’s easy
to clip on and
best of all, it
stays clipped
and where you
want it to be.
The iPod Shuffle
is still small,
portable, and
discrete if you
want it to be.
It’s only about
1”x1” in size
and it only
weighs 12 grams.
So it’s still
easy to run with
or use on the
fly, but the
additions to
this iPod make
it easier to
use, something
that was
necessary.