keiichi said:
If you do end up getting one do you mind posting impressions? I was thinking of ordering with the 512MB or 1GB model for the exact same reason. I can't find any in stores at the moment and really want to hear some decent impressions and also see how it feels in my hands before I make a descision.
Will do.
Basically, I use my iPod all day at work and on travel, but it's an awkward size for working out -- either you hold it in your hand (risky), or it feels strange clipped to your waistband. I used to have a 192MB flash-based MP3 player which was the size of a small pager (and half the weight) which rocked for the gym, but the battery and sync interface both were flaky and annoying. Still, that was plenty of music for the average workout -- at 128 kbps encoding, that was roughly three hours worth of music. When it broke, I bought an iPod and haven't looked back since.
The iPod shuffle would be absolutely perfect for my needs. The 512 MB of memory and 12-hour battery life would mean that I wouldn't have to sync more than once (maybe twice) a week, and I'd probably just fill it up with high-energy hip-hop, techno, and DJ mixes in a set order. If I wanted to use the shuffle feature, I could add the keyword "gym" to songs in iTunes and have the auto-fill work off the custom playlist looking for "gym." A lack of a screen is totally irrelevant for the most part -- just put on the earbuds and get to work. It works with my existing iTunes configuration and won't bork my main collection sync on the iPod. And, oh yeah, it's only $99, which is reasonable for an add-on capability.
Now, I just gotta find one....
