IPod Shuffle 3G Review
iPod Shuffle 3G - the device is not new, but nevertheless, very interesting.
Review written after using the player for about a month.
In a small transparent box you can find:
')
The first thing that immediately catches your eye: the player is very small and thin:
When headphones are connected, the plug completely merges with the case:
The mirror surface is a clothespin that allows you to attach the player to clothes.
If you make it a clothespin inside, then the player may not even notice.
If it is outside - the mirror with the Apple logo will shine beautifully - but be prepared for the fact that the mirror smears very easily and fingerprints are clearly visible on it, even from a light touch.
At the end there is a headphone jack, a status indicator and a three-position switch:
On the headphones - remote control:
Height: 45.2 mm
Width: 17.5 mm
Depth: 7.8 mm (with clothespin)
Weight: 10.7 g
Capacity: 2 or 4 Gigabytes
Frequency response: 20Hz - 20kHz
Supported audio formats: AAC (from 8 to 320 kbps), protected by AAC (from the iTunes Store), HE-AAC, MP3 (from 8 to 320 kbps), MP3 VBR, Audible (formats 2, 3, 4, Audible Enhanced Audio, AAX and AAX +), Apple Lossless, AIFF and WAV
Frequency response: from 20 Hz to 20 kHz
Acoustic impedance: 32 ohm
You can connect other headphones, but from the player’s control then only switching on and changing the mode will be available.
Lithium battery with polymer electrolyte, lasts for ~ 10 hours.
Charging time: 80% in 2 hours, fully in 3 hours.
Physically, the player is connected using this adapter:
To download music you will need iTunes .
After launching the program and connecting the player, iTunes will offer to set a name and initial settings:
Then he will offer to download and install the Voice Over set - the same system that will pronounce the names of the songs:
Installation is quick and fully automatic:
After the installation is completed, you can tweak it completely in the player information window:
The tick "Use as external disk" will allow you to use the player as a regular USB flash drive on any computer - (this is not the case on the iPhone and iPod Touch), which is very convenient. Unless it is necessary to carry with itself an USB adapter.
A nice feature is also the ability to automatically pinch songs with a particularly good quality to save space - 4 GB though, in general, is enough, but I would like more.
The synchronization window allows you to select genres, playlists and individual artists that will be uploaded to the player:
The synchronization itself happens quite quickly:
So, the music is downloaded, now I want to listen to it.
This player, in addition to its size, is famous for a rather unusual control system.
In the instructions, for some reason, not all combinations are given.
The player has three modes: the player is turned off, the player plays songs in order, and in random mode. To move between them, simply move the switch to the desired position.
It should be noted that after turning on the player does not hit the sound over the ears - the volume in the headphones increases gradually, just as it turns off. The indicator will turn green, orange, or red (depending on the charge percentage) and go out in a few seconds.
When changing the mode, the music will quietly subside at about half the volume, and a pleasant beep will be played.
If you turn off the player, and while the music subsides, turn it on again - the player will voice the remaining battery charge in percent.
As it turned out, he does not synthesize it every time - there are several ready-made samples (Battery Full, Battery 75%, and so on).
The remote on the headphones has only 3 buttons - decrease and increase the volume, as well as the central button.
This button is the most important:
I can call a significant minus the fact that there is no possibility of choosing a specific artist - i.e. If you want to listen to one particular group, you will have to create for each individual playlist.
Despite the seeming complexity of management, it was easy to get used to it. After any other player, such control seems incredibly convenient - you do not need to go into your pocket to change the volume or switch the track, the hand easily falls on the remote.
Of course, there are also disadvantages - it will be quite difficult to find a certain song - this player will hardly be liked by people who like to constantly choose which song to listen to next. Although for them there is a good option - to make a separate playlist with your favorite songs.
The names of the songs the player speaks very clearly, supports about 20 languages, including Russian . Each language has its own voice.
As it turned out, the player’s task is only to play already finished voice files - iTunes generates them for all the songs and playlists. The files for some reason turned out to be in the WAV format - if there are many songs, then Voice Over will eat more than a dozen megabytes.
The player connects and works as a regular USB flash drive, while at the same time it is available for synchronization both in iTunes and as a regular drive in My Computer.
Speed ​​tests revealed the following:
Almost 3 (!) Times higher than upload!
The device is suitable as for an ordinary person, and for someone who is actively involved in sports - a heavy smartphone can be broken, and with a light player in a metal case, something is unlikely to happen.
And the way to control the player makes it perplexing to look at the times when, in order to change a song, you had to get a smartphone out of your pocket or grope buttons on the body of a player from another company.
Review written after using the player for about a month.
Features of the device (briefly)
- Tiny size and weight
- Durable anodized aluminum housing
- Lack of display, intuitive control via remote control on headphones
- The player pronounces the names of songs and playlists in voice.
- Enough good time
Equipment
In a small transparent box you can find:
')
- The player itself, attached to a transparent plate
- Headphones with remote control
- USB plug
- Device description in 3 languages ​​(Russian, English, Polish)
- Short manual, also in 3 languages
- Two Apple Logo Stickers
Appearance
The first thing that immediately catches your eye: the player is very small and thin:
When headphones are connected, the plug completely merges with the case:
The mirror surface is a clothespin that allows you to attach the player to clothes.
If you make it a clothespin inside, then the player may not even notice.
If it is outside - the mirror with the Apple logo will shine beautifully - but be prepared for the fact that the mirror smears very easily and fingerprints are clearly visible on it, even from a light touch.
At the end there is a headphone jack, a status indicator and a three-position switch:
On the headphones - remote control:
Specifications
Player
Height: 45.2 mm
Width: 17.5 mm
Depth: 7.8 mm (with clothespin)
Weight: 10.7 g
Capacity: 2 or 4 Gigabytes
Sound
Frequency response: 20Hz - 20kHz
Supported audio formats: AAC (from 8 to 320 kbps), protected by AAC (from the iTunes Store), HE-AAC, MP3 (from 8 to 320 kbps), MP3 VBR, Audible (formats 2, 3, 4, Audible Enhanced Audio, AAX and AAX +), Apple Lossless, AIFF and WAV
Headphones with remote control
Frequency response: from 20 Hz to 20 kHz
Acoustic impedance: 32 ohm
You can connect other headphones, but from the player’s control then only switching on and changing the mode will be available.
Nutrition
Lithium battery with polymer electrolyte, lasts for ~ 10 hours.
Charging time: 80% in 2 hours, fully in 3 hours.
Connect to computer
Physically, the player is connected using this adapter:
To download music you will need iTunes .
After launching the program and connecting the player, iTunes will offer to set a name and initial settings:
Then he will offer to download and install the Voice Over set - the same system that will pronounce the names of the songs:
Installation is quick and fully automatic:
After the installation is completed, you can tweak it completely in the player information window:
The tick "Use as external disk" will allow you to use the player as a regular USB flash drive on any computer - (this is not the case on the iPhone and iPod Touch), which is very convenient. Unless it is necessary to carry with itself an USB adapter.
A nice feature is also the ability to automatically pinch songs with a particularly good quality to save space - 4 GB though, in general, is enough, but I would like more.
Synchronization
The synchronization window allows you to select genres, playlists and individual artists that will be uploaded to the player:
The synchronization itself happens quite quickly:
Control
So, the music is downloaded, now I want to listen to it.
This player, in addition to its size, is famous for a rather unusual control system.
In the instructions, for some reason, not all combinations are given.
On and off
The player has three modes: the player is turned off, the player plays songs in order, and in random mode. To move between them, simply move the switch to the desired position.
It should be noted that after turning on the player does not hit the sound over the ears - the volume in the headphones increases gradually, just as it turns off. The indicator will turn green, orange, or red (depending on the charge percentage) and go out in a few seconds.
When changing the mode, the music will quietly subside at about half the volume, and a pleasant beep will be played.
If you turn off the player, and while the music subsides, turn it on again - the player will voice the remaining battery charge in percent.
As it turned out, he does not synthesize it every time - there are several ready-made samples (Battery Full, Battery 75%, and so on).
Navigation
The remote on the headphones has only 3 buttons - decrease and increase the volume, as well as the central button.
This button is the most important:
- 1 click - stop or start playback
- 2 clicks - next song
- 3 clicks within 6 seconds after the beginning of the song - the previous song
- 3 clicks - start the song first
- 1 click and delay - fast forward
- 2 clicks and delay - rewind
- Delay for ~ 2 seconds - the player will speak the name of the song, artist and album
- Delay for longer - the name of the song, the sound signal and the transition to playlist navigation:
I can call a significant minus the fact that there is no possibility of choosing a specific artist - i.e. If you want to listen to one particular group, you will have to create for each individual playlist.
Despite the seeming complexity of management, it was easy to get used to it. After any other player, such control seems incredibly convenient - you do not need to go into your pocket to change the volume or switch the track, the hand easily falls on the remote.
Of course, there are also disadvantages - it will be quite difficult to find a certain song - this player will hardly be liked by people who like to constantly choose which song to listen to next. Although for them there is a good option - to make a separate playlist with your favorite songs.
Voice over
The names of the songs the player speaks very clearly, supports about 20 languages, including Russian . Each language has its own voice.
As it turned out, the player’s task is only to play already finished voice files - iTunes generates them for all the songs and playlists. The files for some reason turned out to be in the WAV format - if there are many songs, then Voice Over will eat more than a dozen megabytes.
Using the player as a USB flash drive
The player connects and works as a regular USB flash drive, while at the same time it is available for synchronization both in iTunes and as a regular drive in My Computer.
Speed ​​tests revealed the following:
Upload to player:
Download from player:
Almost 3 (!) Times higher than upload!
Conclusions and impressions
Pros:
- A huge plus - light, small, durable
- Convenient management
- Voice over
- Works like a flash drive
- Good sound quality for the average listener.
Minuses:
- Lack of display - difficult to find the right song
- Non-standard connector - for use as a flash drive you need to carry an adapter
- The lack of an adapter for charging in the kit - i.e. charge the player will only from USB. If you want more, you will have to buy an Apple Apple standard adapter.
- Lack of support for flac (although I do not consider it a serious disadvantage with this amount of memory)
The device is suitable as for an ordinary person, and for someone who is actively involved in sports - a heavy smartphone can be broken, and with a light player in a metal case, something is unlikely to happen.
And the way to control the player makes it perplexing to look at the times when, in order to change a song, you had to get a smartphone out of your pocket or grope buttons on the body of a player from another company.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/93092/
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