The big thing that the iPod Shuffle is missing is the ability to Autofill from a mounted regular iPod. Since I only have about 2 GB of music on my computer, and around 32GBs of music on my iPod, the selection is limited. Being able to Autofill from my iPod would be a great way of adding value to the iPod Shuffle, marketing it as a smaller sidekick for your regular iPod. I don't see the downside to this option for Apple, as you'd still have all the regular DRM in effect and the inability to pull the songs back to a computer for unlawful tinkering and spreading of music. You could even "pair" a particular iPod Shuffle to a particular iPod.

Dear Apple / Steve Jobs.

Please enable Autofill from iPod as an option in iTunes for the iPod Shuffle.

Yours,
C.K. Sample, III

*x-posted to Sample the Web

So, Friday afternoon, my 1GB iPod Shuffle arrived. It's nice and I like the interface. I just wanted to note a few things that I haven't seen mentioned elsewhere. Everybody has been talking about how insanely light the iPod Shuffle is, so much so that I was afraid it would feel too light. I was worried it would not feel substantial, but rather flimsy because of its light weight. This is not the case. The 'Pod Shuffle has a nice feel to it.

I like the controls. They are rather intuitive like the regular iPod, but easier to navigate without a screen. For example, the Pause/Play button is big in the center, so if you are outside shoveling snow with your iPod Shuffle zipped up underneath your coat and your neighbor shouts something at you, you can just sort of push in the middle of your chest, and pause the music, so you can shout back, "WHAT?!" and listen to the answer.

Also worth note, I never would've taken my regular iPod out in the snow with me. It is simply too big of an investment and I would be too worried it would be damaged. In comparison—and this is where the iPod Shuffle really shines for me—the iPod Shuffle is constructed in such a small wear-around-the-neck sort of way that it is perfect for this sort of thing. No worries and less chance of damaging it, and even if something bad were to happen, it's priced low enough where it could be replaced with relatively little pain. It's the disposable iPod (not really).

It has a hold function, surprisingly. You have to hold down the Pause/Play button for three seconds to initiate Hold. A little orange light blinks three times to let you know that Hold is turning on, and then holding the button for 5 more seconds turns it off and this is indicated by a blinking green light.

Apple packages it with a little credit-card-sized information / instruction card with all the different control functions. Very nice. They should have this little card for all the iPod models.

Go with the 1GB. I can see this was the right move. If I'd bought the 512MB, I would've had a difficult time choosing how much space to give to songs and how much to files. As is, the 1GB is like 2 in one: it's a 512MB MP3 player and a separate 512MB USB flash drive.

Plugging the iPod Shuffle into my USB port blocks a port on either side of the iPod Shuffle on my Powerbook. Some people are going to be very annoyed by this. Just invest in a USB extension cord.

The sound quality is really good and it has a good internal amp. I actually like that there is no iPod-software-brain playing interference between the raw track and the output from the headphones as there is with the built-in equalizer and sound check functions on the iPod. I hate the regular iPod's equalizer. It's there, so I think I should use it, but if I use it, I feel like I have to continually change it for different songs. Really annoying. The iPod Shuffle eliminates this dilemma for me.

And finally (at least until I get a chance to read things over later and update this post), there is a very slight noise between tracks. I'm not sure if it is the internal workings of the device, or if it is the sound cutting out for a millisecond, but I notice it.

UPDATE: Two other thoughts occurred to me. 1. Unlike the 4G iPods, the iPod Shuffle does not auto-pause when the headphones are accidentally unplugged. This is a mistake, I think, and a feature that I would say is more needed in the iPod Shuffle, considering its design, than in any other iPod. 2. There is a little plastic slider on the headphones so you can choke the slack up to your chin. Is this a feature of non-iPod Shuffle headphones that I just happen to have missed?

*x-posted on Sample the Web

I've made a habit of calling the four Apple stores in Illinois daily, to discover if they have received an inventory of iPod shuffles. I've had no luck yet, but at least three of them have gotten some in, only to have sold out even before I called. The earliest shipment was last Friday at the Skokie store, but they only received the 512MB model. It seems the locations are realizing the demand, and attempting to stem the probably large volume of callers like me daily--I just called the North Michigan Avenue store, and was invited to put my name and phone number on a list, so that they can call me as soon as the 1GB model arrives.
What with the 3-4 week wait at the online store, I'm hoping I can get my hands on one before my trip next week.

The estimated shipping date of the 1GB iPod Shuffle at Apple's web store rose from 1-2 weeks to 3-4 weeks sometime this evening (and the 512MB model also receded further into the future). Urk! And, in case you were wondering, no, the physical Apple Store on North Michigan Avenue in Chicago doesn't have any. Now it's a guessing game--should I order it off the web and hope it ships in 3-4 weeeks plus 5 days shipping, or hope that the guy at the store was right when he said they might have them in 10 days?

UPDATE via C.K.: After reading your post, I checked the order I placed on the 11th for the 1GB iPod Shuffle. It said 5-7 business days when I placed the order, but now the ship date says "On or before the 24th." I don't like Apple's math. Grrr...