Apple iPod shuffle 512 MB White (1st Generation) (Discontinued by Manufacturer)

Three stars may be a smidge low for this player, but since it's touted as Audible-ready, and many (non-apple) sources claimed bookmark - or at least resume - features, I got one. I intended to use it primarily to listed to audiobooks in MP3 format, and as a replacement for my dying usb key drive.Let's start with the bookmark/resume function. It works...sort of. Press pause, the power off. Power on, press play. It starts right where I left off. Unfortunately, if I plug it into a computer (to charge it), it starts back over at track 1. Not a problem, except that without a display, you can't check to see where you were in the book, which means listening to little snippets along the way until you find your place again. It's a bit frustrating - I imagine it might drive someone to dastardly acts if they accidentally did this in a very long track.Next - transfer speed. Yes, it's technically USB2.0, but it may as well be USB1.1 for the speed of most transfers. Audio is painfully slow - less than 1.5MB/sec (USB1.1 speed) - with iTunes. Direct explorer transfers are little better, with several tests maxing out my transfer speed at just under 2.4MB/sec. So this is a USB2.0(480Mb/s) drive with a max speed of 19.2Mb/sec. Dissappointing in an era of 120Mb/s usb flash drives and 160Mb/s cardflash units.Size and function. Nice. Very Nice. It could have been a tad shorter, and maybe a bit narower at the connector end (it doesn't quite seat flush on my Dell M70 laptop due to the case), but it certainly is portable and light. Navigation is super simple. I have big fingers, but haven't had a problem with the nav or slider switch. Though I agree with outher that a ridge or recess might have been nice on the slider, it doesn't feel like I need "too much" pressure to move the switch.Finally, audio quality. Good. Not great, but good. There is a noticable background hiss which is directly proportional to the volume - nearly silent at zero, and audible in most soft passages in program material. I listen with Shure ec3's, though, so I hear hiss on almost every player I've tried. The variable aspect of it is a bit troubling, but not a killer.This is a fun toy, and decently priced for the capacity. If you're going to drop in some tunes for a workout, or the commute, it's probably a great choice for under $100. Depending on your patience, I'd recommend looking at another option for audiobooks, though - when it works, it's smooth, but when it doesn't, the lack of display can be frustrating.

UPDATE (March 2021):I originally bought this as a kind of collector's item. While it did work upon opening it (it was already over a decade old when I bought it from here), it's been sitting in an air-tight container in my room for years and when I pulled it out, the internal battery was beginning to expand and was cracking the plastic chassis. This is still one of the best products Apple has ever made and totally captures the spirit of AppleOriginal Review:The first generation iPod shuffle is still very usable today; even with only 512 MB I have found some creative ways to keep this 2005 product employed. First off, it makes an excellent music/audio player! It can't hold hundreds of songs, but it certainly can hold some of my favorites. I've synced some Podcasts to it, so I can listen to those too. Additionally, you can also sync audiobooks to it as well; and if you're crafty, you can rip the audio from a movie and convert it into a readable audio file which the iPod can play... so then you can listen to a movie! Secondly, the iPod shuffle makes an excellent flash drive! I've actually been using it as my primary flash drive because most files that I transfer between computers are usually pretty small (e.g. text files, pictures, music, videos, and even some apps). The space I reserved for disk use has been very sufficient in holding many files, making the iPod shuffle a great flash drive. I've also discovered that by plugging the iPod into the USB port on a PlayStation 3, you can access the songs that have been synced to it and play it through the system! Third of all, the iPod shuffle is an interesting fashion accessory with the lanyard attachment, and it also makes it easy to carry around your music and data wherever you go!The only issue that I have with the first generation iPod shuffle is that headphones with control buttons (like the Apple EarPods) make the audio playback sound horrible, but only if you push the headphones all the way into the jack. If you leave a little bit of a gap, then the audio sounds perfect. It probably sounds bad because the iPod shuffle wasn't designed with newer headphones in mind.

The Ipod Shuffle may not be as good as the regular Ipod or even as the Mini Ipod, since it is not easy to select the song you want to hear, once it has been loaded into the Shuffle. However, it is very thin and very light. It is the perfect choice if you are going to the gym, or any other excersize. An arm band is a perfect accessory for the Ipod Shuffle. If you have not made your mind in buying an Ipod, and you think that Ipod Shuffle could be a good start, you are definitively wrong. It is a different use. With the regular Ipod you can find your music very easy, searching by artist, album, song, etc. you can even prepare different lists of songs, and look at the photos of the CD Album and every other information of the song you are playing (artists, album, title of the song, etc.). That is not possible with the Shuffle. You just have the option to prepare your list in the itunes, and submit it to the Shuffle. However, it is very convenient the way Apple has designed the software to submit your songs to the Shuffle. You can do it Manually, or automatically, selecting the songs from the lists that you may have created in the Itunes. If you need music for jogging, or doing any sport ... your best choice is definitively the Ipod Shuffle. But if you want the advantages of the Ipod fever, to listen music in your car, house, parties, and have all your CDs and downloaded songs in a small gadget, then your choice should be a regular Ipod, or even a Mini Ipod. Not the Shuffle.