It starts with "i" and ends in "Pod"

So I did it. I went out and got yet another 512 MB iPod shuffle to replace the one I had that became my oh-so-wonderful mother's Mother's Day/(Belated) Birthday Gift. I'm aiming to go to the Yorkdale Apple Store grand opening at 9:30 am on the 21st too...I'll see if I can drag mom along from work, if she's not going to be in a fit of sleep induced rancor.

I had this great big, pompous review of the shuffle posted to SNOG!, which was summarily turned into a flame war thanks to Jordie, who decided to tell us (effectively, in so many words) that we were all brand-whores/trend-sheep for liking the iPod. I won't force you to endure the rabid fanboyism of my first review, so here's some general thoughts about the iPod shuffle, for anyone interested...

A) Yes, it doesn't have a screen. But you see, that's sort of part of the point. With a conventional MP3-flash based player, you'd load it up with all of your albums and use the screen to select between tracks. With the shuffle, you add only the songs you like...or at least, only the songs that you really enjoy listening to the most. Of course it's hard to navigate between songs, and that's where the randomness of the shuffle comes into play. Think of it as a radio station that you get to control, one where they play only the songs you like, with none of the advertisements. Want something fresh? Plug it into your Mac or PC, delete and toss more tracks onto it (a simple drag-and-drop deal), or...if you're feeling daring just hit "Autofill" in iTunes. If you've clicked on "Choose higher rated songs more often", you'll get a wider mix of songs you enjoy using.

B) Yes, it doesn't have an FM-radio/stopwatch/voice recorder, etc. But really, how often do you use or need those features? And do they really add to the value of the shuffle as a digital music player? If you really want an FM-radio, then why are you buying an MP3-player in the first place?

C) Naturally, like most (all?) Apple products, the shuffle is not for everyone. If you'd like a digital music player that's a little different from the ordinary, or like me, just need a cheap economical way to carrying your favourite songs or albums along, then the shuffle is a great choice. At $129 CDN for the 512 MB model, it's a very good value compared to similar offerings from other companies like iRiver, Creative, or Samsung. But -- and it's a big but -- if you want or need a music player which works and feels just like your old Sony Discman/CD Walkman clunker (i.e a "conventional" MP3-player with a screen, etc.), then the shuffle wouldn't be a good idea.

And this brings me to the point about trend-sheep-ism; really, I like the iPod because it effectively fits what I want out of a digital music player, no more, no less. I'll admit that the fact that it's made by Apple was a big part of the decision, but that's because I've had a lot of experience with Apple's products, the majority of them positive. "Being Trendy" had nothing to do with it whatsoever. I can think of other, very well designed products who have gathered very devoted followings; cars, basic appliances, personal and home electronics...basically every category of consumer product has something -- a brand or a product because it does the seemingly novel duty of doing what it's customers want it to do, more or less. Since when is that a crime?