What is iPod Shuffle

The iPod Shuffle (trademarked, marketed and stylized as iPod shuffle) is a digital audio player designed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is the smallest model in Apple's iPod family, and the first to use flash memory. The first model was announced at the Macworld Conference & Expo on January 11, 2005; the current third generation model, introduced on March 11, 2009, weighs 10.7 grams (0.38 oz).

The iPod Shuffle was announced at the same time as the Mac Mini. Like the iPod Shuffle, the Mac Mini is a scaled-down product which has been introduced at a lower price. These two products together can be seen as a conscious effort on the part of Apple management to target a lower-end market and increase visibility in the mass-market. Previously, the success of Apple's iPod and especially the iPod Mini had been chipping away at the inexpensive flash player market, causing flash players at the beginning of 2005 to account for less than half the market share they did in 2004. However, the original and Mini iPods were costly and the Shuffle was intended to make the iPod compete with mainstream players.

By April 2005, the end of Apple's second fiscal quarter, the iPod Shuffle had already proven itself to be a successful product for its manufacturer. Although Apple has chosen not to specify how many iPod Shuffles were sold in the product's first three months of existence, analysts at Piper Jaffray estimated that 1.8 million of the 5.3 million iPods sold in the second quarter were Shuffles. NPD Group estimates that the iPod Shuffle captured 43% of the flash-based music player market in February 2005, after only its second month of existence. By March 2005 the iPod Shuffle's market share had risen to 58%.

In September 2006, Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced during his keynote presentation on the "It's Showtime" Special Event, that until then, Apple had sold 10 million first generation iPod Shuffles.

PC World reported a problem with the first-generation iPod Shuffles ceasing normal function, only to flash orange and green lights and become unmountable. Since the Shuffle has no display, the owner can't read an error message or troubleshoot easily, requiring diagnosis by Apple service personnel. Flashing green and amber lights on the iPod Shuffle indicate that a generic "error" has occurred, according to Apple's documentation. If the device is still covered by warranty, Apple will replace it for free. This problem has also occurred on second generation iPod Shuffles.

On October 26, 2006, Apple released an iPod Shuffle Reset Utility that corrected this problem for some owners of first-generation iPod Shuffles. Then, in March 2007, an updated iPod Reset Utility was released which can also address similar problems with second-generation iPod Shuffles.

Unlike most other portable audio players, the iPod Shuffle's controls are situated on the packaged headphones. One will be unable to control the device unless they use either Apple headphones designed for the 3rd-generation Shuffle, or third-party headphones or adapters that must be licensed by Apple. The 3rd-generation iPod Shuffle's headphones contain a proprietary integrated circuit. Also, inline control adapters that were made by third-party companies for use with the iPhone and iPod are incompatible with the iPod Shuffle.

Several months after the Generation 3 release, several third-party companies, including Belkin and Scosche, released adaptors which can be used to add the controls to standard headphones.

Additionally, this headphone model has been criticized by many users for its inability to handle moisture. Despite Apple's claim, via video on their own website, that the shuffle is ideal for exercise, the control unit on the headphones will malfunction after exposure to moisture (i.e. perspiration).