iPod Shuffle MP3 Player

I’ve recently seen a lot of runners wearing their smartphones strapped to their arms as they run. I’ve looked into the prices of those cases but wasn’t convinced that I wanted to spend $35 to lug around smart phone as I ran.

Looking at what else was on the market, I came across the iPod shuffle. This thing is small, so no worries at all about the extra weight while I jog. And as I was already the happy owner of an older iPod Touch and iPad2, I already had my playlists setup in iTunes. However, I was a little apprehensive about the lack of a built-in display, but for $49 it didn’t seem like much of a gamble.

So I picked up a “Black” iPod Shuffle and charged it over night via USB. The next day I sync’d it with my newly minted ”jogging” playlist and took it for a run. I quickly learned the simple control scheme for skipping forward and back, as well as for changing play lists. But, on the down side was the size of the power switch. It’s small, and requires some attention to turn on to the correct position to listen to a single playlist.

After nearly a month, on one particular hot day at the end of my run the iPod Shuffle began to act erratically. I shut it off, but the next day the unit would no longer turn on (even after changing overnight.) I can only guess that the unit had got soaked with sweat based on the heat of the previous day and that I had been clipping it to my waist band. Luckily I had a product replacement warranty which only runs $5 and was able to quickly exchange the unit. I then began clipping the new model to my pocket instead and haven’t had any issues in the months since.

So while the power switch could be bigger and easier to use, and the unit isn’t sweat proof, I would still recommend the iPod Shuffle as it’s an inexpensive and light weight alternative to lugging around a larger smart phone while you run. However, based on my experience I would recommend the product replacement warranty.

So, what are you using for an MP3 player? Do you like it? Please share your thoughts with us by commenting below 🙂

By Shawn M Tierney