The Silver 3rd Generation Apple iPod shuffle is a surprisingly tiny MP3 player, with a generous 4GB storage capacity: enough to hold up to 1000 songs. The first thing you'll notice about it, aside from its diminutiveness, is the absence of a display screen or buttons. A physical switch on the player toggles between off, shuffle, and linear playback modes. Volume, track advance, and play/pause are controlled by a physical control button, built into the included set of ear buds.
Owners of previous versions of the now-venerable shuffle are used to the fact that there was simply no way to find out what song you were listening to at a given time. This is no longer the case: this iPod talks. Its VoiceOver function reads aloud the song title and artist name. Its voice - female for PC and Tiger users, male for Mac users with Leopard - speaks 14 different languages, allowing it to recognize everything from an aria from an Italian opera to the latest J-Pop hit from the streets of Tokyo.
The shuffle also uses VoiceOver to help you move between playlists. You can sync any number of playlists with the device, the only limitation is its ample storage capacity. The device itself is a bit too small to sport its own USB port, but have no worries - the cable is included. It even allows you to use the iPod as a USB flash drive.
The iPod shuffle is only 1.8" tall, 0.7" wide, and 0.3" thin, smaller than the average house key. It weighs less than half an ounce. Compatible with Windows and Mac systems with iTunes, it can play up to 10 hours of music between charges.