Apple iPod shuffle 4 GB Black (3rd Generation) OLD MODEL by Apple Computer
|
List Price: Our Price: $43.99 You Save: $35.01 (44%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Network Media Player See more digital camera details and other models |
|---|
Digital camera reviews of Apple iPod shuffle 4 GB Black (3rd Generation) OLD MODEL
Digital camera Review: GREAT TECHNOLOGY...DON'T BELIEVE THE NEGATIVES...THERE ARE NONE
Summary: 5 Stars
This is the most outstanding IPODS I own...and I have three; including the small 1g IPod Shuffle.
The main concern between all relates to the interchange ability of headsets. The ear buds that apple has included is all that you will need. The base is excellent, and the sound is outstanding, or should I say awesome. I purchased the FH5 for my IPod Touch. Very little difference. I know what you are thinking..."This Guy Must Be Deaf"! How can a person compare a high end head set to the one that Apple included with this unit? The only way to know for sure is if you try them out for yourself. I really think that Apple made sure the included ear buds were changed for this unit. As a footnote the change in volume, shuffle, and playing songs in order is only advancement to Apple's other 1-2 Gig colorful shuffles. I can only give you my experience with this unit. Like I said before this small unit is brilliant and the sound is fantastic. For $79.00 or less how could anyone criticize this unit and give it less than five stars?
Digital camera Review: Good idea, poor execution! CANNOT HANDLE SMALL AMOUNTS OF MOISTURE
Summary: 1 Stars
Let me start off by saying that I love Apple products. This is the first complete failure on their part that I've experienced and I say complete failure because of this reason: If you produce a product that works great some of the time, but completely fails all the other times, then it is of no use to anyone.
I use my iPods for many day to day things; such as relaxing in the morning/evening, jogging, biking, walking my dogs, etc. and have NEVER had an issue with moisture getting into the headphone jack or with the controls...... until now.
Here are some points you MUST consider before purchasing this iPod:
1. It is not weather sealed in any way, shape, or form. Meaning; if you get any perspiration, dampness from fog or dew, God help you if it rains, a small amount of dust or dirt kicked up in the wind, etc. you will either lose control of the iPod completely or it will simply stop working.
2. The earbuds are not comfortable and fall out of your ears if you do anything but sit/stand without moving. Some of you this is probably not an issue :)
3. It does produce decent sound and when you are wearing it you cannot tell it's even on you. This thing is small and light, perfect for lets say jogging, biking, hiking, walking, etc. but alas, if you do any of these things you will destroy your iPod due to perspiration.
This is what happens when just a small amount of moisture gets into the controls on the headset (at least what I experienced with mine):
1. Random activation of the buttons. Volume would shoot up to eardrum breaking levels or drop down to nothing. Constant repeating of the verbal announcement of the song title or playlist, and shutdown of the unit. When this happens you lose control of the iPod and can no longer adjust the volume, pause/play, change playlists, change songs, etc.
2. Changing to aftermarket headphones may not fix the problem! The connection between the headphones and the iPod becomes corroded and you get loss of sound quality (sound in one earbud or low sound or it may sound like it's playing inside a tin can). If you turn the headphone jack around inside the iPod it can sometimes fix this, sometimes it takes removing it and reinserting it several times to regain good sound quality. One thing I do know, it's getting worse over time and I fully expect the iPod to be useless within weeks.
My suggestion is to wait for them to come out with an updated model that can handle normal human usage.
Digital camera Review: Great Design - Idiotic Critical Design Flaw - Sweat Ruins Headphones
Summary: 3 Stars
The unit itself is terrific, the voice music ID thing is great, the size is fantastic, and, theoretically, the controls are cleverly built into the headset. But what the geniuses who designed the headsets apparently failed to take into account is that PEOPLE ACTUALLY SWEAT when they workout. For those of us who use these for running, it's a real blast to have the thing start shorting out 5 miles into your run because droplets of sweat from your head or neck hit the control switch that's built into the right earphone. Suddenly the volume either minimizes or maximizes, the track skip and rewind functions stop working, and play/pause works only sparodcially. This has happened to me THREE TIMES with THREE REPLACEMENT EARPHONES. Each time I take an hour of my day to schlep out to the Genius Bar, and each time the guy behind the counter acts like (a) it's his first time even seeing the new 3g Shuffle, and (b) like he's never heard of the moisture/sweat problem, even though there are tons of complaints here on amazon, and tons more on Apple's websites. Should Apple be smart enough to acknowledge the issue? Or do they just expect people to drive to the store every week for a new set of headphones? I'm a huge Apple fan, but this headset issue is right up there with MobileMe in the category of bungled Apple products.Digital camera Review: Great Idea, horrible design
Summary: 1 Stars
I am an avid gym goer so I thought I'd upgrade from my ipod shuffle 2g. It was great at first, it's light, can't notice it's there, control location made changing/pausing/etc songs a breeze. Plus the addition of the playlists was very nice. But 2 weeks in, the thing started acting up; the controls stopped working, the volume would go up or down, didn't respond. After a few work outs and some online investigating I found out the sweat was going into the controls causing this. I've returned 3 plus earbud pairs and the same thing would happen. At the apple store the clerk told me they were having the same problems with other customers. Well long story short there isn't much you can do about it, I've tried wrapping the controls in electrical tape and still no luck (not to mention you can't use another pair of earbuds, due to the lack of controls). So if you buying this for the gym, DON'T. If it's just for casual use, maybe walking around campus/work/etc then I would totally recommend it.Digital camera Review: Great Shuffle---Don't buy it!
Summary: 1 Stars
Looks great, worked great... the first day. On my second run the headphone controls quit working, I couldn't even adjust the volume. What is with the headphone scam...can't use any other ones...and high risk of not working...don't waste your money. I took mine back and bought an old shuffle...where was R & D?
Did they even test it??? With real people doing real activities?