IPod shuffle
Encyclopedia
The iPod Shuffle is a digital audio player designed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is the smallest model in Apple's iPod
family, and was the first to use flash memory
. The first model was announced at the Macworld Conference & Expo
on January 11, 2005; the current fourth generation model was introduced on September 1, 2010.
, which can select songs at random from a user's music library (or from a specific playlist) and copy as many as will fit into the iPod Shuffle's memory. The Shuffle can hold up to 240 songs (1-GB model, based on Apple's estimate, of four minutes per song and 128 kbit/s AAC
encoding). It used the SigmaTel
STMP35xx system on a chip (SOC) and its software development kit (SDK) v2.6, a flash memory IC, and USB rechargeable lithium cell. The STMP35xx SOC and its software was the most fully integrated portable MP3 playback system at release time and SigmaTel was Austin's largest IPO (2003) capturing over 60 % of flash based MP3 player world market share in 2004. In 2005, peak iPod first-generation Shuffle production occurred at a hundred thousand units per day, at the Asus
factory.
It lacks a display
and the trademark scroll wheel
, playlist
management features, and is missing the games, address book, calendar, alarm, and notes capability of larger iPods; it cannot be used with iSync
. Due to the codec not being ported, it is incapable of playing Apple Lossless
and AIFF audio files.
Due to superior audio technology in the SigmaTel STMP35xx SOC and SDK, the iPod Shuffle has a better bass response than a 4th generation iPod, according to a review published days after its release.
iTunes offers some new features for iPod Shuffle. One is the ability to reduce the bit rate
of songs to 128 kbit/s AAC
. The conversion is done automatically, with the original file
left untouched on the computer and the smaller (lower bit rate) file sent to the iPod Shuffle. Older versions of iTunes allowed an iPod Shuffle playlist to be viewed and changed while the unit is not connected; the next time the unit is connected, it can then be updated with the changed playlist. This functionality is no longer a part of iTunes as of iTunes 7.
The front of the iPod Shuffle has buttons for Play/Pause, Next Song/Fast Forward, Previous Song/Fast Reverse, and up and down volume
adjustment. On the reverse, it has a battery
level indicator light (activated by a button) and a three-position switch to turn the unit off or set it to play music in order or shuffled. It plugs directly into a computer's USB
port (either 1.1 or 2.0), through which it also recharges its battery, which has an expected life of around 12 hours between charges. The USB plug is hidden beneath a cap. The unit also comes with a lanyard that attaches to the iPod Shuffle via an attached cap and this allows the user to wear the iPod Shuffle around his or her neck.
The iPod Shuffle can also be used as a USB flash drive
. iTunes allows a user to set how much of the drive will be allowed for storing files, and how much will be used for storing music.
model in a silver brushed aluminum case similar to the second generation iPod Nano and the older iPod Mini
. The new model is less than half the size of the first generation model at 41.2 x 27.3 x 10.5 mm (1.62 x 1.07 x 0.41 in), and is the size of the iPod Radio Remote available for iPod Nanos and 5th generation iPods. Apple claimed it was the "world's smallest MP3 player". This size includes the new built-in belt clip; the actual unit itself is thinner, with the entire device weighing only 15.5 g
(0.55 ounces). The power/shuffle/no shuffle switch from the first generation version was separated into two controls to avoid an accidentally selected mode of operation. The formatting of the iPod itself is new to Apple, as the 2G (2nd Generation) shuffle will only format itself to FAT32
. iTunes issues a warning that the iPod is incorrectly formatted if brought to the Macintosh format HFS+. All previous iPod models have allowed the usage of either the Mac
format or the Windows
format.
On the second generation iPod Shuffle, USB
connectivity is provided via an included piece of hardware which acts as a docking station
for the transfer of data and the recharging of the iPod's internal battery through its headphone jack
. The second generation iPod Shuffle is also able to act as a flash drive, just like the first generation iPod Shuffle. However, unlike the first generation iPod Shuffle, the second generation does not have a built-in USB connector. This means that the docking station
is required for connection to a computer on the second generation model.
The second generation Shuffle can play MP3, MP3 VBR
, AAC
, Protected AAC, Audible (formats 2, 3 and 4), WAV
and AIFF
. Due to its low processing power the only iTunes-supported file format that the iPod does not support is Apple Lossless
. Using large file sizes inherent of WAV
or AIFF
files will very quickly fill the device's low 1 GB capacity. iPod Shuffle cannot play music from music video files.
On January 30, 2007, Apple announced the addition of four new colors to the iPod Shuffle line. Pink, orange, green, and blue choices have been made available via retailers and the Apple Store (online) in addition to the original silver color. The colors blue, green, and pink are essentially the same hue
s as the second generation iPod Nano
and iPod Mini
. The new orange color is a first for the iPod franchise. They also now come with the new redesigned headphones that were not included with the original silver model. The box was also changed to have gray text instead of the lime-green text; lime-green text indicating that the original headphones are included, gray text indicating that the new headphones are included
On September 5, 2007, Apple refreshed the line with four new colors including a Product Red
version. The new colors are turquoise, lavender, mint green, and Product Red
, with the previous colors orange, blue, green, and pink being discontinued.
On February 19, 2008, Apple introduced a 2 GB version of the iPod shuffle, retailing for US$69 and available in all the same colours as the 1 GB model. On the same day, the price of the 1 GB model was lowered from US$79 to US$49.
At the Apple Let's Rock Event on September 9, 2008, Apple released four new colors for the iPod Shuffle: blue, green, pink, and red, replacing the colors that were released in September 2007. The blue, green and pink variants of the iPod shuffle during this period reverted to shades that were similar to the colors that were released in January 2007, while the red variant was now a brighter shade.
In June, 2009, Avon
offered a gold iPod Shuffle (second generation) for $29 when purchased in conjunction with select fragrances.
The second generation 2 GB iPod Shuffle was discontinued on March 11, 2009 and the 1 GB version was discontinued on September 9, 2009.
The third generation iPod Shuffle was released on March 11, 2009 and was said by Apple to be "jaw-droppingly small" and "The first music player that talks to you" with dimensions of 45.2 x. It was available with a silver or black brushed aluminum case similar to the second generation iPod Shuffle. This made it the first iPod Shuffle that was available in black. It featured VoiceOver
technology that allowed song names, artist names, album names and playlist contents and names to be spoken in 20 different languages using the Text-to-Speech incorporated in iTunes
8 and 9. It also gained support for multiple playlists, in contrast to previous versions of the iPod Shuffle, which allowed only a single playlist.
The third generation iPod Shuffle features a polished steel attachment clip, adopting for the first time the polished steel finishing previously found only on the larger iPods, rather than the brushed aluminum used in the second-generation iPod Shuffle. It also no longer had volume or track controls on the device itself. Instead, the packaged iPod earbuds
included a three-button device on the right earbud cord. This adds the functions of changing between playlists, hearing the song title and artist of the track playing, as well as play/pause, track changes and volume control. It is not possible to change songs or volume with most third-party headphones, since they lack these controls. However, since the iPod Shuffle begins playing music automatically when it is turned on, third-party headphones may still be used in "autoplay" mode (with no volume or playback controls). Some third-party headphones and headphone adapters include full support for the third generation iPod Shuffle. The official headphones contain a chip designed by Apple to control the device. DRM
is not however present in the chip as there is no encryption used.
On September 9, 2009, Apple introduced three new colors for the iPod Shuffle: pink, blue, and green. The Apple Store also offered a 4 GB model made of polished stainless steel
.
The model also features VoiceOver
from the third generation, now with a devoted physical button, in twenty-nine languages (Chinese (Cantonese, Mandarin), Czech, Danish, Dutch, English (Australia, UK, U.S.), Finnish, French (Canada, France), German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil, Portugal), Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Spanish (Mexico, Spain), Swedish, Thai and Turkish). It also features Genius
and handles multiple playlists. Like the previous generation it supports MP3, VBR
, AAC
, Protected AAC, Audible (formats 2, 3 and 4), WAV
, AIFF
and Apple Lossless
, and the battery lasts for 15 hours of music.
It is currently sold in five colors (Silver with black Control Pad, Green, Blue, Orange and Pink with white Control Pad). Unlike the 2nd Generation, the iPod does not come with a dock, but like the 3rd Generation, comes with a 45mm USB Cable. A longer cable is also available for $19US. The included in-box headphones do not feature the remote control, but the device supports them. It is currently being sold in 2GB models with US pricing for the device set at $49USD; in Europe it costs €55, in the UK the price is £40 and in Australia the price is AUD$55.
. Like the iPod Shuffle, the Mac Mini is a scaled-down product
which has been introduced at a lower price. These two products together can be seen as a conscious effort on the part of Apple management to target a lower-end market
and increase visibility in the mass-market. Previously, the success of Apple's iPod
and especially the iPod Mini
had been chipping away at the inexpensive flash player market, causing flash players at the beginning of 2005 to account for less than half the market share they did in 2004. However, the original and Mini iPods were costly and the Shuffle was intended to make the iPod compete with mainstream players.
By April 2005, the end of Apple's second fiscal quarter, the iPod Shuffle had already proven itself to be a successful product for its manufacturer. Although Apple has chosen not to specify how many iPod Shuffles were sold in the product's first three months of existence, analysts at Piper Jaffray
estimated that 1.8 million of the 5.3 million iPods sold in the second quarter were Shuffles. NPD Group
estimates that the iPod Shuffle captured 43% of the flash-based music player market in February 2005, after only its second month of existence. By March 2005 the iPod Shuffle's market share had risen to 58%.
In September 2006, Apple CEO Steve Jobs
announced during his keynote presentation on the "It's Showtime" Special Event, that until then, Apple had sold 10 million first generation iPod Shuffles.
reported a problem with the first-generation iPod Shuffles ceasing normal function, only to flash orange and green lights and become unmountable. Since the Shuffle has no display, the owner can't read an error message or troubleshoot easily, requiring diagnosis by Apple service personnel. Flashing green and orange lights on the iPod Shuffle indicate that a generic "error" has occurred, according to Apple's documentation. If the device is still covered by warranty, Apple will replace it for free. This problem has also occurred on second generation iPod Shuffles.
On October 26, 2006, Apple released an iPod Shuffle Reset Utility that corrected this problem for some owners of first-generation iPod Shuffles. Then, in March 2007, an updated iPod Reset Utility was released which can also address similar problems with second-generation iPod Shuffles.
. Also, inline control adapters that were made by third-party companies for use with the iPhone and iPod are incompatible with the iPod Shuffle.
Several months after the third generation release, several third-party companies, including Belkin and Scosche, released adaptors which can be used to add the controls to standard headphones.
Additionally, this headphone model has been criticized by many users for its inability to handle moisture. Despite Apple's claim, via video on their own website, that the shuffle is ideal for exercise, the control unit on the headphones has been reported to malfunction after exposure to moisture (e.g. perspiration).
IPod
iPod is a line of portable media players created and marketed by Apple Inc. The product line-up currently consists of the hard drive-based iPod Classic, the touchscreen iPod Touch, the compact iPod Nano, and the ultra-compact iPod Shuffle...
family, and was the first to use flash memory
Flash memory
Flash memory is a non-volatile computer storage chip that can be electrically erased and reprogrammed. It was developed from EEPROM and must be erased in fairly large blocks before these can be rewritten with new data...
. The first model was announced at the Macworld Conference & Expo
Macworld Conference & Expo
Produced by Boston-based IDG World Expo, Macworld | iWorld is a trade-show with conference tracks dedicated to the Apple Macintosh platform. It is held annually in the United States, usually during the second week of January...
on January 11, 2005; the current fourth generation model was introduced on September 1, 2010.
First generation
Released on January 11, 2005, the first-generation iPod Shuffle weighed 0.78 ounces (22.1 g) and was designed to be easily loaded with a selection of songs and to play them in random order. According to Apple, owners of existing iPods had often left the music selection to "shuffle", and the new iPod Shuffle was a way of implementing that in a much more cost-effective fashion. It relies on the use of an "autofill" feature in iTunesITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
, which can select songs at random from a user's music library (or from a specific playlist) and copy as many as will fit into the iPod Shuffle's memory. The Shuffle can hold up to 240 songs (1-GB model, based on Apple's estimate, of four minutes per song and 128 kbit/s AAC
Advanced Audio Coding
Advanced Audio Coding is a standardized, lossy compression and encoding scheme for digital audio. Designed to be the successor of the MP3 format, AAC generally achieves better sound quality than MP3 at similar bit rates....
encoding). It used the SigmaTel
SigmaTel
SigmaTel is an electronics company located in Austin, TX, which designs mixed audio signal processors, and controller chips for multifunction peripherals. SigmaTel was Austin's largest IPO as of 2003 when it became publicly traded on NASDAQ...
STMP35xx system on a chip (SOC) and its software development kit (SDK) v2.6, a flash memory IC, and USB rechargeable lithium cell. The STMP35xx SOC and its software was the most fully integrated portable MP3 playback system at release time and SigmaTel was Austin's largest IPO (2003) capturing over 60 % of flash based MP3 player world market share in 2004. In 2005, peak iPod first-generation Shuffle production occurred at a hundred thousand units per day, at the Asus
ASUS
ASUSTeK Computer Incorporated is a multinational computer technology and consumer electronics product manufacturer headquartered in Taipei, Taiwan. Its product range includes motherboards, desktops, laptops, monitors, tablet PCs, servers and mobile phones...
factory.
It lacks a display
Liquid crystal display
A liquid crystal display is a flat panel display, electronic visual display, or video display that uses the light modulating properties of liquid crystals . LCs do not emit light directly....
and the trademark scroll wheel
Scroll wheel
A scroll wheel is a hard plastic or rubbery disc on a computer mouse that is perpendicular to the mouse surface. It is normally located between the left and right mouse buttons.- Functionality :...
, playlist
Playlist
In its most general form, a playlist is simply a list of songs. They can be played in sequential or shuffled order. The term has several specialized meanings in the realms of radio broadcasting and personal computers.-In radio:...
management features, and is missing the games, address book, calendar, alarm, and notes capability of larger iPods; it cannot be used with iSync
ISync
iSync is a software application published by Apple Inc. It runs only under Mac OS X and is used to synchronize contact and calendar data from Address Book and iCal with many non-Apple SyncML-enabled mobile phones via a Bluetooth or USB connection. Support for many devices is built-in, with newer...
. Due to the codec not being ported, it is incapable of playing Apple Lossless
Apple Lossless
Apple Lossless Apple Lossless Apple Lossless (also known as ALAC (Apple Lossless Audio Codec), or ALE (Apple Lossless Encoder) is an audio codec developed by Apple Inc. for lossless data compression of digital music. After initially being proprietary for many years, in late 2011 Apple open sourced...
and AIFF audio files.
Due to superior audio technology in the SigmaTel STMP35xx SOC and SDK, the iPod Shuffle has a better bass response than a 4th generation iPod, according to a review published days after its release.
iTunes offers some new features for iPod Shuffle. One is the ability to reduce the bit rate
Bit rate
In telecommunications and computing, bit rate is the number of bits that are conveyed or processed per unit of time....
of songs to 128 kbit/s AAC
Advanced Audio Coding
Advanced Audio Coding is a standardized, lossy compression and encoding scheme for digital audio. Designed to be the successor of the MP3 format, AAC generally achieves better sound quality than MP3 at similar bit rates....
. The conversion is done automatically, with the original file
Computer file
A computer file is a block of arbitrary information, or resource for storing information, which is available to a computer program and is usually based on some kind of durable storage. A file is durable in the sense that it remains available for programs to use after the current program has finished...
left untouched on the computer and the smaller (lower bit rate) file sent to the iPod Shuffle. Older versions of iTunes allowed an iPod Shuffle playlist to be viewed and changed while the unit is not connected; the next time the unit is connected, it can then be updated with the changed playlist. This functionality is no longer a part of iTunes as of iTunes 7.
The front of the iPod Shuffle has buttons for Play/Pause, Next Song/Fast Forward, Previous Song/Fast Reverse, and up and down volume
Volume
Volume is the quantity of three-dimensional space enclosed by some closed boundary, for example, the space that a substance or shape occupies or contains....
adjustment. On the reverse, it has a battery
Battery (electricity)
An electrical battery is one or more electrochemical cells that convert stored chemical energy into electrical energy. Since the invention of the first battery in 1800 by Alessandro Volta and especially since the technically improved Daniell cell in 1836, batteries have become a common power...
level indicator light (activated by a button) and a three-position switch to turn the unit off or set it to play music in order or shuffled. It plugs directly into a computer's USB
Universal Serial Bus
USB is an industry standard developed in the mid-1990s that defines the cables, connectors and protocols used in a bus for connection, communication and power supply between computers and electronic devices....
port (either 1.1 or 2.0), through which it also recharges its battery, which has an expected life of around 12 hours between charges. The USB plug is hidden beneath a cap. The unit also comes with a lanyard that attaches to the iPod Shuffle via an attached cap and this allows the user to wear the iPod Shuffle around his or her neck.
The iPod Shuffle can also be used as a USB flash drive
USB flash drive
A flash drive is a data storage device that consists of flash memory with an integrated Universal Serial Bus interface. flash drives are typically removable and rewritable, and physically much smaller than a floppy disk. Most weigh less than 30 g...
. iTunes allows a user to set how much of the drive will be allowed for storing files, and how much will be used for storing music.
Second generation
On September 12, 2006, Apple announced the release of the second generation iPod Shuffle, calling it "the most wearable iPod ever". First shipments of the unit were slated for an October 2006 arrival, but actually started shipping on Friday, November 3, 2006. The second generation initially featured a lone 1 GBGigabyte
The gigabyte is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information storage. The prefix giga means 109 in the International System of Units , therefore 1 gigabyte is...
model in a silver brushed aluminum case similar to the second generation iPod Nano and the older iPod Mini
IPod mini
The iPod Mini is a digital audio player designed and marketed by Apple Inc. It was the midrange model in Apple's iPod product line. It was announced on January 6, 2004 and released on February 20 of the same year. A second-generation version was announced on February 23, 2005 and released later...
. The new model is less than half the size of the first generation model at 41.2 x 27.3 x 10.5 mm (1.62 x 1.07 x 0.41 in), and is the size of the iPod Radio Remote available for iPod Nanos and 5th generation iPods. Apple claimed it was the "world's smallest MP3 player". This size includes the new built-in belt clip; the actual unit itself is thinner, with the entire device weighing only 15.5 g
Gram
The gram is a metric system unit of mass....
(0.55 ounces). The power/shuffle/no shuffle switch from the first generation version was separated into two controls to avoid an accidentally selected mode of operation. The formatting of the iPod itself is new to Apple, as the 2G (2nd Generation) shuffle will only format itself to FAT32
File Allocation Table
File Allocation Table is a computer file system architecture now widely used on many computer systems and most memory cards, such as those used with digital cameras. FAT file systems are commonly found on floppy disks, flash memory cards, digital cameras, and many other portable devices because of...
. iTunes issues a warning that the iPod is incorrectly formatted if brought to the Macintosh format HFS+. All previous iPod models have allowed the usage of either the Mac
Macintosh
The Macintosh , or Mac, is a series of several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. The first Macintosh was introduced by Apple's then-chairman Steve Jobs on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a...
format or the Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
format.
On the second generation iPod Shuffle, USB
Universal Serial Bus
USB is an industry standard developed in the mid-1990s that defines the cables, connectors and protocols used in a bus for connection, communication and power supply between computers and electronic devices....
connectivity is provided via an included piece of hardware which acts as a docking station
Docking station
A Docking station or port replicator or dock provides a simplified way of “plugging-in” an electronic device such as a laptop computer to common peripherals...
for the transfer of data and the recharging of the iPod's internal battery through its headphone jack
TRS connector
A TRS connector is a common family of connector typically used for analog signals including audio. It is cylindrical in shape, typically with three contacts, although sometimes with two or four . It is also called an audio jack, phone jack, phone plug, and jack plug...
. The second generation iPod Shuffle is also able to act as a flash drive, just like the first generation iPod Shuffle. However, unlike the first generation iPod Shuffle, the second generation does not have a built-in USB connector. This means that the docking station
Docking station
A Docking station or port replicator or dock provides a simplified way of “plugging-in” an electronic device such as a laptop computer to common peripherals...
is required for connection to a computer on the second generation model.
The second generation Shuffle can play MP3, MP3 VBR
Variable bitrate
Variable bitrate is a term used in telecommunications and computing that relates to the bitrate used in sound or video encoding. As opposed to constant bitrate , VBR files vary the amount of output data per time segment...
, AAC
Advanced Audio Coding
Advanced Audio Coding is a standardized, lossy compression and encoding scheme for digital audio. Designed to be the successor of the MP3 format, AAC generally achieves better sound quality than MP3 at similar bit rates....
, Protected AAC, Audible (formats 2, 3 and 4), WAV
WAV
Waveform Audio File Format , is a Microsoft and IBM audio file format standard for storing an audio bitstream on PCs...
and AIFF
AIFF
Audio Interchange File Format is an audio file format standard used for storing sound data for personal computers and other electronic audio devices...
. Due to its low processing power the only iTunes-supported file format that the iPod does not support is Apple Lossless
Apple Lossless
Apple Lossless Apple Lossless Apple Lossless (also known as ALAC (Apple Lossless Audio Codec), or ALE (Apple Lossless Encoder) is an audio codec developed by Apple Inc. for lossless data compression of digital music. After initially being proprietary for many years, in late 2011 Apple open sourced...
. Using large file sizes inherent of WAV
WAV
Waveform Audio File Format , is a Microsoft and IBM audio file format standard for storing an audio bitstream on PCs...
or AIFF
AIFF
Audio Interchange File Format is an audio file format standard used for storing sound data for personal computers and other electronic audio devices...
files will very quickly fill the device's low 1 GB capacity. iPod Shuffle cannot play music from music video files.
On January 30, 2007, Apple announced the addition of four new colors to the iPod Shuffle line. Pink, orange, green, and blue choices have been made available via retailers and the Apple Store (online) in addition to the original silver color. The colors blue, green, and pink are essentially the same hue
Hue
Hue is one of the main properties of a color, defined technically , as "the degree to which a stimulus can be describedas similar to or different from stimuli that are described as red, green, blue, and yellow,"...
s as the second generation iPod Nano
IPod nano
iPod Nano is a digital media player designed and marketed by Apple Inc.. The first generation of iPod Nano was introduced on September 7, 2005 as a replacement for iPod Mini. It uses flash memory for storage. iPod Nano has gone through six models, or generations, since its introduction...
and iPod Mini
IPod mini
The iPod Mini is a digital audio player designed and marketed by Apple Inc. It was the midrange model in Apple's iPod product line. It was announced on January 6, 2004 and released on February 20 of the same year. A second-generation version was announced on February 23, 2005 and released later...
. The new orange color is a first for the iPod franchise. They also now come with the new redesigned headphones that were not included with the original silver model. The box was also changed to have gray text instead of the lime-green text; lime-green text indicating that the original headphones are included, gray text indicating that the new headphones are included
On September 5, 2007, Apple refreshed the line with four new colors including a Product Red
Product Red
Product Red, styled as RED, is a brand licensed to partner companies such as Nike, American Express , Apple Inc., Starbucks, Converse, Bugaboo, Penguin Classics , Gap, Emporio Armani, Hallmark and Dell...
version. The new colors are turquoise, lavender, mint green, and Product Red
Product Red
Product Red, styled as RED, is a brand licensed to partner companies such as Nike, American Express , Apple Inc., Starbucks, Converse, Bugaboo, Penguin Classics , Gap, Emporio Armani, Hallmark and Dell...
, with the previous colors orange, blue, green, and pink being discontinued.
On February 19, 2008, Apple introduced a 2 GB version of the iPod shuffle, retailing for US$69 and available in all the same colours as the 1 GB model. On the same day, the price of the 1 GB model was lowered from US$79 to US$49.
At the Apple Let's Rock Event on September 9, 2008, Apple released four new colors for the iPod Shuffle: blue, green, pink, and red, replacing the colors that were released in September 2007. The blue, green and pink variants of the iPod shuffle during this period reverted to shades that were similar to the colors that were released in January 2007, while the red variant was now a brighter shade.
In June, 2009, Avon
Avon Products
Avon Products, Inc. is a US cosmetics, perfume and toy seller with markets in over 140 countries across the world and sales of $9.9 billion worldwide as of 2007.-Business Model:...
offered a gold iPod Shuffle (second generation) for $29 when purchased in conjunction with select fragrances.
The second generation 2 GB iPod Shuffle was discontinued on March 11, 2009 and the 1 GB version was discontinued on September 9, 2009.
Third generation
VoiceOver
VoiceOver is a screen reader built into Apple Inc.'s Mac OS X, iOS and iPod operating systems. By using VoiceOver, the user can access their Macintosh or iOS device based on spoken descriptions and, in the case of the Mac, the keyboard. The feature is designed to increase accessibility for blind...
technology that allowed song names, artist names, album names and playlist contents and names to be spoken in 20 different languages using the Text-to-Speech incorporated in iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
8 and 9. It also gained support for multiple playlists, in contrast to previous versions of the iPod Shuffle, which allowed only a single playlist.
The third generation iPod Shuffle features a polished steel attachment clip, adopting for the first time the polished steel finishing previously found only on the larger iPods, rather than the brushed aluminum used in the second-generation iPod Shuffle. It also no longer had volume or track controls on the device itself. Instead, the packaged iPod earbuds
IPod earbuds
iPod earbuds are the iconic white earphones that ship with all music players designed and marketed by Apple Inc. These earphones are manufactured solely by the Fostex corporation of Japan.-History:...
included a three-button device on the right earbud cord. This adds the functions of changing between playlists, hearing the song title and artist of the track playing, as well as play/pause, track changes and volume control. It is not possible to change songs or volume with most third-party headphones, since they lack these controls. However, since the iPod Shuffle begins playing music automatically when it is turned on, third-party headphones may still be used in "autoplay" mode (with no volume or playback controls). Some third-party headphones and headphone adapters include full support for the third generation iPod Shuffle. The official headphones contain a chip designed by Apple to control the device. DRM
Digital rights management
Digital rights management is a class of access control technologies that are used by hardware manufacturers, publishers, copyright holders and individuals with the intent to limit the use of digital content and devices after sale. DRM is any technology that inhibits uses of digital content that...
is not however present in the chip as there is no encryption used.
On September 9, 2009, Apple introduced three new colors for the iPod Shuffle: pink, blue, and green. The Apple Store also offered a 4 GB model made of polished stainless steel
Stainless steel
In metallurgy, stainless steel, also known as inox steel or inox from French "inoxydable", is defined as a steel alloy with a minimum of 10.5 or 11% chromium content by mass....
.
Fourth generation
It features the return of clickable track and volume controls from the first two generations. The control pad is 18% larger than the second generation of iPod shuffle. The dimensions of the device are 29 x and it weighs 12.5 g (0.4409245263139 oz). The player also features a new voice-over button.The model also features VoiceOver
VoiceOver
VoiceOver is a screen reader built into Apple Inc.'s Mac OS X, iOS and iPod operating systems. By using VoiceOver, the user can access their Macintosh or iOS device based on spoken descriptions and, in the case of the Mac, the keyboard. The feature is designed to increase accessibility for blind...
from the third generation, now with a devoted physical button, in twenty-nine languages (Chinese (Cantonese, Mandarin), Czech, Danish, Dutch, English (Australia, UK, U.S.), Finnish, French (Canada, France), German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil, Portugal), Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Spanish (Mexico, Spain), Swedish, Thai and Turkish). It also features Genius
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
and handles multiple playlists. Like the previous generation it supports MP3, VBR
Variable bitrate
Variable bitrate is a term used in telecommunications and computing that relates to the bitrate used in sound or video encoding. As opposed to constant bitrate , VBR files vary the amount of output data per time segment...
, AAC
Advanced Audio Coding
Advanced Audio Coding is a standardized, lossy compression and encoding scheme for digital audio. Designed to be the successor of the MP3 format, AAC generally achieves better sound quality than MP3 at similar bit rates....
, Protected AAC, Audible (formats 2, 3 and 4), WAV
WAV
Waveform Audio File Format , is a Microsoft and IBM audio file format standard for storing an audio bitstream on PCs...
, AIFF
AIFF
Audio Interchange File Format is an audio file format standard used for storing sound data for personal computers and other electronic audio devices...
and Apple Lossless
Apple Lossless
Apple Lossless Apple Lossless Apple Lossless (also known as ALAC (Apple Lossless Audio Codec), or ALE (Apple Lossless Encoder) is an audio codec developed by Apple Inc. for lossless data compression of digital music. After initially being proprietary for many years, in late 2011 Apple open sourced...
, and the battery lasts for 15 hours of music.
It is currently sold in five colors (Silver with black Control Pad, Green, Blue, Orange and Pink with white Control Pad). Unlike the 2nd Generation, the iPod does not come with a dock, but like the 3rd Generation, comes with a 45mm USB Cable. A longer cable is also available for $19US. The included in-box headphones do not feature the remote control, but the device supports them. It is currently being sold in 2GB models with US pricing for the device set at $49USD; in Europe it costs €55, in the UK the price is £40 and in Australia the price is AUD$55.
Models
| Generation | Image | Capacity | Colors | Connection | Original release date | Minimum OS to sync | Rated battery life (hours) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First |  |
512 MB | White | USB (no adapter required) |
January 11, 2005 | Mac: 10.2.8 Mac OS X v10.2 Mac OS X version 10.2 "Jaguar" is the third major release of Mac OS X, Apple's desktop and server operating system. It superseded Mac OS X v10.1 code name Puma and preceded Mac OS X Panther... Windows: 2000 Windows 2000 Windows 2000 is a line of operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, business desktops, laptops, and servers. Windows 2000 was released to manufacturing on 15 December 1999 and launched to retail on 17 February 2000. It is the successor to Windows NT 4.0, and is the... |
audio: 12 |
| 1 GB | |||||||
| New entry-level model. Uses flash memory and has no screen. | |||||||
| Second | 1 GB | Silver | USB 2.0 (with included dock) |
September 12, 2006 | Mac: 10.3.9 Mac OS X v10.3 Mac OS X Panther is the fourth major release of Mac OS X, Apple’s desktop and server operating system. It followed Mac OS X v10.2 "Jaguar" and preceded Mac OS X Tiger... Windows: 2000 Windows 2000 Windows 2000 is a line of operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, business desktops, laptops, and servers. Windows 2000 was released to manufacturing on 15 December 1999 and launched to retail on 17 February 2000. It is the successor to Windows NT 4.0, and is the... |
audio: 12 | |
| 1 GB | Silver Orange Green Blue Pink |
January 30, 2007 | Mac: 10.3.9 Mac OS X v10.3 Mac OS X Panther is the fourth major release of Mac OS X, Apple’s desktop and server operating system. It followed Mac OS X v10.2 "Jaguar" and preceded Mac OS X Tiger... Windows: 2000 Windows 2000 Windows 2000 is a line of operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, business desktops, laptops, and servers. Windows 2000 was released to manufacturing on 15 December 1999 and launched to retail on 17 February 2000. It is the successor to Windows NT 4.0, and is the... |
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| 1 GB | Silver Light Blue Light Green Purple PRODUCT (RED) Product Red Product Red, styled as RED, is a brand licensed to partner companies such as Nike, American Express , Apple Inc., Starbucks, Converse, Bugaboo, Penguin Classics , Gap, Emporio Armani, Hallmark and Dell... Special Edition |
September 5, 2007 | Mac: 10.4.8 Mac OS X v10.4 Mac OS X v10.4 Tiger is the fifth major release of Mac OS X, Apple's desktop and server operating system for Macintosh computers. Tiger was released to the public on 29 April 2005 for US$129.95 as the successor to Mac OS X Panther , which had been released 18 months earlier... Windows: 2000 Windows 2000 Windows 2000 is a line of operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, business desktops, laptops, and servers. Windows 2000 was released to manufacturing on 15 December 1999 and launched to retail on 17 February 2000. It is the successor to Windows NT 4.0, and is the... |
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| 2 GB | February 19, 2008 | ||||||
| 1 GB | Silver Blue Green Pink PRODUCT (RED) Product Red Product Red, styled as RED, is a brand licensed to partner companies such as Nike, American Express , Apple Inc., Starbucks, Converse, Bugaboo, Penguin Classics , Gap, Emporio Armani, Hallmark and Dell... Special Edition |
September 9, 2008 | Mac: 10.4.10 Mac OS X v10.4 Mac OS X v10.4 Tiger is the fifth major release of Mac OS X, Apple's desktop and server operating system for Macintosh computers. Tiger was released to the public on 29 April 2005 for US$129.95 as the successor to Mac OS X Panther , which had been released 18 months earlier... Windows: 2000 Windows 2000 Windows 2000 is a line of operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, business desktops, laptops, and servers. Windows 2000 was released to manufacturing on 15 December 1999 and launched to retail on 17 February 2000. It is the successor to Windows NT 4.0, and is the... |
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| 2 GB | |||||||
| Smaller clip design with anodized aluminum casing. | |||||||
| Third | |
4 GB | Silver Black |
USB 2.0 (cable is included) |
March 11, 2009 | Mac: 10.4.11 Mac OS X v10.4 Mac OS X v10.4 Tiger is the fifth major release of Mac OS X, Apple's desktop and server operating system for Macintosh computers. Tiger was released to the public on 29 April 2005 for US$129.95 as the successor to Mac OS X Panther , which had been released 18 months earlier... Windows: XP Windows XP Windows XP is an operating system produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops and media centers. First released to computer manufacturers on August 24, 2001, it is the second most popular version of Windows, based on installed user base... |
audio: 10 |
| 2 GB | Silver Black Blue Green Pink |
September 9, 2009 | Mac: 10.4.11 Mac OS X v10.4 Mac OS X v10.4 Tiger is the fifth major release of Mac OS X, Apple's desktop and server operating system for Macintosh computers. Tiger was released to the public on 29 April 2005 for US$129.95 as the successor to Mac OS X Panther , which had been released 18 months earlier... Windows: XP Windows XP Windows XP is an operating system produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops and media centers. First released to computer manufacturers on August 24, 2001, it is the second most popular version of Windows, based on installed user base... |
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| 4 GB | Silver Black Blue Green Pink Polished Stainless Steel Stainless steel In metallurgy, stainless steel, also known as inox steel or inox from French "inoxydable", is defined as a steel alloy with a minimum of 10.5 or 11% chromium content by mass.... (exclusive to Apple Online and Retail Stores) |
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| Smaller design with controls relocated to right earbud cable, features VoiceOver VoiceOver VoiceOver is a screen reader built into Apple Inc.'s Mac OS X, iOS and iPod operating systems. By using VoiceOver, the user can access their Macintosh or iOS device based on spoken descriptions and, in the case of the Mac, the keyboard. The feature is designed to increase accessibility for blind... . Initially sold concurrently with 2nd gen 1 GB model. Later refreshed with 2 GB model. |
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| Fourth | 2 GB | Silver Blue Green Orange Pink |
USB 2.0 (cable is included) |
September 1, 2010 | Mac: 10.5.8 Mac OS X v10.5 Mac OS X Leopard is the sixth major release of Mac OS X, Apple's desktop and server operating system for Macintosh computers. Leopard was released on 26 October 2007 as the successor of Tiger , and is available in two variants: a desktop version suitable for personal computers, and a... Windows: XP Windows XP Windows XP is an operating system produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops and media centers. First released to computer manufacturers on August 24, 2001, it is the second most popular version of Windows, based on installed user base... |
audio: 15 | |
| Redesign returning the play/track/volume buttons from the 2nd gen and power/shuffle mode switch from the 1st gen, and adding a button for VoiceOver. | |||||||
Reception and impact
The iPod Shuffle was announced at the same time as the Mac MiniMac Mini
The Mac Mini is a small form factor desktop computer manufactured by Apple Inc. Like earlier mini-ITX PC designs, it is uncommonly small for a desktop computer: 7.7 inches square and 1.4 inches tall. It weighs 2.7 pounds...
. Like the iPod Shuffle, the Mac Mini is a scaled-down product
Product (business)
In general, the product is defined as a "thing produced by labor or effort" or the "result of an act or a process", and stems from the verb produce, from the Latin prōdūce ' lead or bring forth'. Since 1575, the word "product" has referred to anything produced...
which has been introduced at a lower price. These two products together can be seen as a conscious effort on the part of Apple management to target a lower-end market
Low-end market
In the USA, as well as in most developed countries, the low-end market consists of lower-priced products suitable for customers who are not willing or able to spend large amounts of money...
and increase visibility in the mass-market. Previously, the success of Apple's iPod
IPod
iPod is a line of portable media players created and marketed by Apple Inc. The product line-up currently consists of the hard drive-based iPod Classic, the touchscreen iPod Touch, the compact iPod Nano, and the ultra-compact iPod Shuffle...
and especially the iPod Mini
IPod mini
The iPod Mini is a digital audio player designed and marketed by Apple Inc. It was the midrange model in Apple's iPod product line. It was announced on January 6, 2004 and released on February 20 of the same year. A second-generation version was announced on February 23, 2005 and released later...
had been chipping away at the inexpensive flash player market, causing flash players at the beginning of 2005 to account for less than half the market share they did in 2004. However, the original and Mini iPods were costly and the Shuffle was intended to make the iPod compete with mainstream players.
By April 2005, the end of Apple's second fiscal quarter, the iPod Shuffle had already proven itself to be a successful product for its manufacturer. Although Apple has chosen not to specify how many iPod Shuffles were sold in the product's first three months of existence, analysts at Piper Jaffray
Piper Jaffray
Piper Jaffray & Co. , often shortened to just Piper Jaffray or PiperJaffray, is a U.S. middle-market investment banking firm based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and sells financial advice, investment products, and transaction execution within targeted sectors of the financial services marketplace...
estimated that 1.8 million of the 5.3 million iPods sold in the second quarter were Shuffles. NPD Group
NPD Group
The NPD Group, Inc. is a leading North American market research company. The NPD Group consistently ranks among the top 25 market research companies in the independent Honomichl Top 50 report, which the media and the research industry acknowledge as a credible source of information on the market...
estimates that the iPod Shuffle captured 43% of the flash-based music player market in February 2005, after only its second month of existence. By March 2005 the iPod Shuffle's market share had risen to 58%.
In September 2006, Apple CEO Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs
Steven Paul Jobs was an American businessman and inventor widely recognized as a charismatic pioneer of the personal computer revolution. He was co-founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Apple Inc...
announced during his keynote presentation on the "It's Showtime" Special Event, that until then, Apple had sold 10 million first generation iPod Shuffles.
Blinking light problem
PC WorldPC World (magazine)
PC World is a global computer magazine published monthly by IDG. It offers advice on various aspects of PCs and related items, the Internet, and other personal-technology products and services...
reported a problem with the first-generation iPod Shuffles ceasing normal function, only to flash orange and green lights and become unmountable. Since the Shuffle has no display, the owner can't read an error message or troubleshoot easily, requiring diagnosis by Apple service personnel. Flashing green and orange lights on the iPod Shuffle indicate that a generic "error" has occurred, according to Apple's documentation. If the device is still covered by warranty, Apple will replace it for free. This problem has also occurred on second generation iPod Shuffles.
On October 26, 2006, Apple released an iPod Shuffle Reset Utility that corrected this problem for some owners of first-generation iPod Shuffles. Then, in March 2007, an updated iPod Reset Utility was released which can also address similar problems with second-generation iPod Shuffles.
3rd Generation Headphone Controls
Unlike most other portable audio players, the third generation iPod Shuffle's controls are situated on the packaged headphones. One will be unable to control the device unless they use either Apple headphones designed for it, or third-party headphones or adapters that must be licensed by Apple. The 3rd-generation iPod Shuffle's headphones contain a proprietary integrated circuitIntegrated circuit
An integrated circuit or monolithic integrated circuit is an electronic circuit manufactured by the patterned diffusion of trace elements into the surface of a thin substrate of semiconductor material...
. Also, inline control adapters that were made by third-party companies for use with the iPhone and iPod are incompatible with the iPod Shuffle.
Several months after the third generation release, several third-party companies, including Belkin and Scosche, released adaptors which can be used to add the controls to standard headphones.
Additionally, this headphone model has been criticized by many users for its inability to handle moisture. Despite Apple's claim, via video on their own website, that the shuffle is ideal for exercise, the control unit on the headphones has been reported to malfunction after exposure to moisture (e.g. perspiration).