Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

iPod Shuffle = crap

C

chicagdan

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 3, 2002
723
0
Chicago, IL
I'm a huge Apple fan, rarely if ever have a bad thing to say about them and I've owned a conventional iPod for 2 years now and love it. A few weeks ago I bought an iPod Shuffle because I figured it would be more convenient for my summertime marathon training.

My god, what a piece of crap this thing is. First of all, the shuffle feature isn't nearly as good as that of the conventional iPod ... I regularly get the same song up again only four or five songs after hearing it last. No, it doesn't play through the entire list, it just shuffles randomly from everything on the player.

My second problem ... after loading about 10 songs, iTunes regularly says it can't find the device. I have to eject it, remove the Shuffle, then plug it back in ... and again after about 10 songs, the problem will resurface.

My third problem ... unlike the real iPod, the Shuffle doesn't update your iTunes data list, so you can't just plug it in and see which songs you just played. Perhaps a minor thing, but for someone used to this feature with the real iPod, I miss it.

The positives of the Shuffle are that it's small and convenient, the sound is good and you don't have to worry about a crashing hard drive (my wife's iPod HD crashed after 14 months, which is the other reason why I now have a Shuffle, she has my old iPod.) But for anyone used to all the features and workmanship of the conventional iPod, this device is a huge letdown.
 
chicagdan said:
My god, what a piece of crap this thing is. First of all, the shuffle feature isn't nearly as good as that of the conventional iPod ... I regularly get the same song up again only four or five songs after hearing it last. No, it doesn't play through the entire list, it just shuffles randomly from everything on the player.
Click to expand...
Shuffle = random play on the shuffle, i like it. And it's easy to skip if you really don't want to hear the song ;)

chicagdan said:
My second problem ... after loading about 10 songs, iTunes regularly says it can't find the device. I have to eject it, remove the Shuffle, then plug it back in ... and again after about 10 songs, the problem will resurface.
Click to expand...
No problems loading it here.

chicagdan said:
My third problem ... unlike the real iPod, the Shuffle doesn't update your iTunes data list, so you can't just plug it in and see which songs you just played. Perhaps a minor thing, but for someone used to this feature with the real iPod, I miss it.
Click to expand...
Very true. If they add anything to the shuffle, this must be it. And the ability to rate or tag the song for future rating.

chicagdan said:
The positives of the Shuffle are that it's small and convenient, the sound is good and you don't have to worry about a crashing hard drive (my wife's iPod HD crashed after 14 months, which is the other reason why I now have a Shuffle, she has my old iPod.) But for anyone used to all the features and workmanship of the conventional iPod, this device is a huge letdown.
Click to expand...
Never owned a real iPod, but the shuffle is all i need right now, it's just so easy to use. I leave it in my pocket and control it through the fabric. Can't see you doing that with a real iPod ;).

Shuffle = crap is a bit harsh no?
 
redeye_be said:
Shuffle = crap is a bit harsh no?
Click to expand...

Perhaps ... but only if you haven't owned an iPod and become used to the outstanding quality of that product. Step down to an iPod Shuffle and its all second rate.

That shuffle issue is not insignificant, by the way. Create a playlist or just listen to your whole collection on a regular iPod and it will shuffle from A to Z ... meaning it will play your entire collection before you hear a song again. That's how Shuffle *should* work. The iPod Shuffle's version is a cheap knockoff and quite annoying. Sure, you can fast forward ... but I've gone in streaks where a 100 song list will have the same 15 songs played over and over again. That never happens with an iPod.
 
i bought myself a 128mb i-Bead100 about 2 years ago and it was outstanding, back when the max memory was 256 or 512 in the big ugly players. but even then i was limited to about 30-40 songs. although it did mean plugging the i-Bead in every day to copy over some new tracks and remove old ones, and seeing it charged via USB i NEVER had an empty battery.

Flash drives just dont hold enough for me now. especially since going iPod, my 15Gb had about 9 days of music on it and now my mini has about 4 days (or whatever, its almost full). i couldn't use anything less than 6Gb these days.

Shuffle, whilst slightly appealing, is a no-go for me. i wouldn't say its crap, just its for a different kind of person. somebody who has never used an iPod or dosnt need their entire music collection with them.
 
I rather love my iPod shuffle. Great sound output. I just came from a mini, as well. I will be getting a high-capacity iPod at some point to hold all my Lossless.
 
i think ur one of the people apple made the iPod, iPod photo, iPod U2, iPod Mini for, stcik with one of those iPod. They seem better for you. ANd about all ur Shuffle problems, perhaps ur got a bad one.
 
Apple didn't include a firewire cable with the shuffles. In my mind, that is the biggest crap ever against loyal Apple fans. Online petition anyone?
 
Lacero said:
Apple didn't include a firewire cable with the shuffles. In my mind, that is the biggest crap ever against loyal Apple fans. Online petition anyone?
Click to expand...

I think that's a pretty flimsy complaint. The shuffles don't come with ANY cables. It has a built-in USB connector...
 
chicagdan said:
unlike the real iPod, the Shuffle doesn't update your iTunes data list, so you can't just plug it in and see which songs you just played. Perhaps a minor thing, but for someone used to this feature with the real iPod, I miss it.
Click to expand...

It doesn't update the "last played" time, but it does update the playcount.

The reason it doesn't update "last played" is the shuffle doesn't have an internal clock.
 
dejo said:
I think that's a pretty flimsy complaint. The shuffles don't come with ANY cables. It has a built-in USB connector...
Click to expand...

At less than 20 minutes to fill a 1 GB Shuffle, using USB 1.1, I'm glad they kept costs down and excluded a cable.

Plus, after spending a bazillion dollars on a Firewire cable for an iPod Photo, I'd rather not pay Apple prices for cabling ever again.
 
DavidLeblond said:
It doesn't update the "last played" time, but it does update the playcount.

The reason it doesn't update "last played" is the shuffle doesn't have an internal clock.
Click to expand...
Mine doesn't... :confused:
Can someone confirm this?

Mind you i did not follow instructions about installing the software before connecting my shuffle for the first time ;)
 
Mine does update the play count and I also don't have a problem with the random play. I load mine up every day and listen all day at work and only get repeats when I have to reset the Shuffle for some reason (not often at all).
 
kgarner said:
Mine does update the play count and I also don't have a problem with the random play. I load mine up every day and listen all day at work and only get repeats when I have to reset the Shuffle for some reason (not often at all).
Click to expand...
Looks like life=random, shuffle=crap ;)

I'm reading up on the apple support forums on this issue. Damned strange though.
 
Gotta say, I still love my shuffle. It's the perfect alternative to bringing my big ( :rolleyes: ), expensive iPod photo out skateboarding or Kayacking. Mine only repeats songs after it's played through them or resets, updates the playcount and syncs just as fast with USB2.0 as it would with firewire. Although I never recommend them as a primary mp3 player, the Shuffle fits the bill perfectly for what I need.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back