X

Get a grip on the Apple iPod Shuffle 2012 (pictures)

Take a closer look at Apple's iPod Shuffle, a fitness-friendly MP3 player available for $49.

Donald_Bell.jpg
Donald_Bell.jpg
Donald Bell
35467751-1.jpg
1 of 6 Josh Miller/CNET

Apple iPod Shuffle

The latest iPod Shuffle seems impossibly small. Measuring 1.24 inches wide by 1.14 inches tall by 0.34 inch thick, it's practically a musical postage stamp.
35467751-4.jpg
2 of 6 Josh Miller/CNET

Apple iPod Shuffle (top view)

The controls on the top edge of the iPod Shuffle are so small, you'll need to whittle down your fingertips with a pencil sharpener to operate them.
35467751-2.jpg
3 of 6 Josh Miller/CNET

Apple iPod Shuffle (top view)

The only relatively new feature added to the iPod Shuffle in recent years is a VoiceOver button located on the top edge of the player. Pressing this microscopic button once will cause a synthetic voice to announce the artist and song title of the currently playing song.
35467751-3.jpg
4 of 6 Josh Miller/CNET

Apple iPod Shuffle (back)

The iPod Shuffle's clip is made from aluminum and offers a strong tension.
35467751-7.jpg
5 of 6 Josh Miller/CNET

Apple iPod Shuffle, old and new

Unlike the previous generation of the iPod Shuffle (lower in the picture), which deliberately left a space on the front of the player for an easy grip, it is nearly impossible to pinch the clip on this design without accidentally pressing the back-skip button in the process.
35467751-5.jpg
6 of 6 Josh Miller/CNET

Apple iPod Shuffle with headphones

For a $49 MP3 player, the Shuffle sounds surprisingly good, though you'd never know it from the old-school Apple earbuds that come included.

More Galleries

Go Inside the Apple iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro: See How the New iPhones Look and Work
iphone 15 in different color from an angled view

Go Inside the Apple iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro: See How the New iPhones Look and Work

21 Photos
17 Hidden iOS 17 Features and Settings on Your iPhone
Invitation for the Apple September iPhone 15 event

17 Hidden iOS 17 Features and Settings on Your iPhone

18 Photos
Astronomy Photographer of the Year Winners Reveal Our Stunning Universe
andromeda

Astronomy Photographer of the Year Winners Reveal Our Stunning Universe

16 Photos
Check Out the iPhone 15's New Camera in Action
A photo of a silhouette of buildings on the water taken on the iPhone 15

Check Out the iPhone 15's New Camera in Action

12 Photos
I Got an Early Look at Intel's Glass Packaging Tech for Faster Chips
Rahul Manepalli, right, Intel's module engineering leader, shows a glass substrate panel before it's sliced into the small rectangles that will be bonded to the undersides of hundreds of test processors. The technology, shown here at Intel's CH8 facility in Chandler, Arizona, stands to improve performance and power consumption of advanced processors arriving later this decade. Glass substrates should permit physically larger processors comprised of several small "chiplets" for AI and data center work, but Intel expects they'll trickle down to PCs, too.

I Got an Early Look at Intel's Glass Packaging Tech for Faster Chips

20 Photos
Yamaha motorcycle and instrument designers trade jobs (pictures)
yamaha01.jpg

Yamaha motorcycle and instrument designers trade jobs (pictures)

16 Photos
CNET's 'Day of the Dead Devices' altar (pictures)
dia-de-los-muertos-3318-001.jpg

CNET's 'Day of the Dead Devices' altar (pictures)

9 Photos