All in all it’s just another stick in the hub

By Barb Dybwad

FedEx arrived at my door yesterday bearing good news in the form of a ridiculously large box containing a ridiculously small portable audio player. The device, known affectionately amongst inner circles as Q98, is known to the public as the diminutive, the screenless, the
practically impossible to find iPod shuffle.

Just a few first impressions:

  • The box smells strangely and strongly of mothballs.
  • The iPod shuffle really is the perfect size.
  • I am going to lose that end cap in very short order.
  • I know that I should not eat, nor
    chew, the iPod shuffle. But it's really tempting.
  • BIG sound from a tiny player. The audio quality is quite excellent, even with the much-maligned white earbuds. It
    is also quite excellent in my car, even on whatever crap stock speakers are in my Toyota Corolla.
  • The automagic Autofill feature is sweet. iTunes
    had no trouble discerning which tracks actually reside on my Powerbook, out of a music library that spans three
    different volumes (two of which were not connected at the time). This addresses one of my
    beefs with iTunes.
  • It will double as a 1GB USB thumb drive, and that is freaking cool.
  • I do have one complaint about the iPod shuffle. The box that the software came in has a message emblazoned across
    the cover in 5 different languages: "Don't steal music." I'm sure that the RIAA is breathing down your neck, Apple,
    but really. Why am I being made to feel like a thief before I even open up the box?!? So not cool.

Oh... and did I mention the thing is really dang small?

Recommended