yes it will work as a USB extender, reason being is that it IS a USB extender, its just in a fancy piece of plastic. That being said, I have one and love it 🙂 It show cases my shuffle when it's syncing and also it allows me access to my 2nd usb port on my PB...I can't quite get to it with the shuffle plugged in...close, but no cigar. Besides, who wants something stuck in the side of their laptop that sticks out like 4 inches, its gonna break lol.