The iPod Shuffle is just about the smallest media player out there right now, thanks in part to its screenless design. The iPod Shuffle doesn't have much of a user interface to speak of: you can set it to randomly play a song or repeat a song. There are also basic playback controls on the device's face: play/pause, forward/reverse skip, and volume up/down. If you like seeing details about the song you have playing, or playing a game while listening, or want to watch videos, then the Shuffle is not for you. It is, however, a utilitarian device that's incredibly tiny.

The iPod Shuffle (1GB) currently retails for around $50.

Performance (read the full lab performance results at MediaPlayerInfo.com)
The iPod Shuffle had good audio performance, considering its price and size. It had a nice, flat frequency response, meaning the device isn't adding or subtracting emphasis from any frequencies. The Shuffle Nano had low distortion and very, very low noise. It also showed minimal crosstalk, meaning your left and right channels won't bleed into each other. The Shuffle had poor output power, however, so headphones with a high impedence won't be able to provide high decibel levels. Lastly, as with the majority of media players we review, the packaged-in headphones weren't very good.

Comparisons (read the full conclusion at MediaPlayerInfo.com)
The iPod Shuffle is a good little device that takes a step back from the intuitive iPod interface. There's no real ability to control playback other than skipping tracks until you find something you like, which is the main factor to consider if you're looking at the Shuffle. If you don't like complicated user interfaces, or find yourself just skipping through a random playlist on your existing media player, then the Shuffle might be a good, inexpensive replacement. It's small, but also doesn't hold many songs, so you might find yourself uploading a new batch of songs often. If you want control, impressive hardware, or software of any kind, then the Shuffle simply isn't a good pick.