One of the few complaints often leveled
against Apple's family of iPod music players
concerned their comparatively high cost, ignoring those who don't need or want to pay
for gigabytes of storage. The iPod
shuffle addresses this concern with a
low cost, lower capacity option.
While all previous
iPods used internal hard drives as a storage
device, the iPod shuffle was the first to store store audio files on
flash memory chips. This
not only lowered production cost, but also makeed it possible
to manufacture a much smaller player.
The iPod shuffle
is designed around a USB Thumb Drive model, with
a USB connector built onto the device itself,
rather than relying on a cable or dock to sync
with a computer. There is no display on
the shuffle, a reality which Apple has used
in naming the newest iPod. Because you can't
view playlists or information on what you're
listening to, the iPod shuffle is designed to
pull random songs from lists you create in iTunes
to create a unique listening experience for each
use.
Of course, the popularity of the iPod shuffle led to the development of the flash-based iPod nano.
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