So by now just about everyone’s heard about Apple’s diminutive new iPod shuffle. It’s sleek, it’s slim and its absolutely tiny. No bigger than your typical thumb drive, this is probably the first time I’m seeing a portable MP3 player that boasts a volume much less than that of a rolled-up set of earbuds. One of these will set you back by US$79 in the United States, while Singaporeans are charged S$128. Over in Malaysia, one of those will go for RM309. The new shuffle’s also received a bump up in the storage department; from 1GB on the second-generation shuffle to 4GB on the new one. What’s more, while the ‘old’ shuffle came in a cornucopia of colors, the new one only comes in black and silver.

I’ve had the pleasure of hanging on to one for the past 2 weeks or so, and here’s a quick review for your reading pleasure.

To start off, just like with any other iPod product these days, you get a set of white earbuds; typical Apple fare for the most part, except that the ones that come with the new iPod shuffle have playback controls built-in; more on that in a bit. You also get a data cable, which plugs into the stereo jack on the shuffle, which also doubles up as the charging cable. Apple fans might also note that unlike the second-generation shuffle, the new one does *not* come with a dock.

One particular point about the new shuffle is that it happens to be totally button free. With the exception of the switch that you can see above, there are no buttons whatsoever on the shuffle, which leads back to the newfangled earbuds. There’s been plenty of noise regarding this, and opinions seem divided. One camp likes the minimalist approach, while the other seems to think that if Apple shrinks the shuffle any more, you’d probably find the next generation shuffle built into the earbuds themselves. As it is, Apple’s managed to squeeze quite a lot inside; amazing, really.

The switch you see enables shuffle or standard playback modes, while also doubling as an off-switch. Other than the earphone jack, the tiny dot you see in the middle is the LED indicator, which shows the various possible states of the shuffle when in operation.

The clip is pretty sleek, though it doesn’t really have a good grip. Attaching the shuffle to your collar, or the edge of your shirt is possible, but commuters stuck in the likes of a crowded train might run the risk of an inadvertent tug dislodging your new shuffle from wherever you’ve clipped it. Similarly, joggers and gym-goers might want to tie the shuffle down somewhere, lest it comes loose during a particularly vigorous workout.

Audio playback quality on the new shuffle is quite good. I also own an iPod touch 32GB, as well as an iPod classic 120GB; so far, with a pair of Audio Technica earbuds, I can’t really hear any difference between the three. Of course, using a third-party set of earbuds at this point also means that you lose a great deal of control over playback. Apple says they should have an adapter cable out soon, but having to shell out more cash on an add-on that lets you use your preferred set of earbuds just doesn’t seem right.

One thing to note about these new earbuds, having to keep clicking on the control pad is downright annoying. What’s more, you literally have to learn the different combinations that activate the different commands, almost like Morse code. As a matter of fact, Apple’s got an entire cheat-sheet for your handy reference, right here.

At this point, if you’re going to pick up one of these anyway, I’d recommend that you ditch the earbuds, and use your own favorite pair, clicking buttons notwithstanding. Besides, what better way to appreciate the shuffle than to listen to your music the way Apple named the player? After all, you can still activate shuffle playback mode from the switch on the player itself.

It’s interesting to note that the shuffle’s earbuds do work with the second-generation iPod touch and the iPhone 3G (though not with the 120GB iPod classic, nor the first generation iPhone), and it might be the case that Apple is considering having such earbuds bundled with all future iPods. For now, many third-party earphone manufacturers have also announced shuffle-compatible earbuds, such as Etymotic, Klipsch and Scosche.

The shuffle’s much hyped-about VoiceOver technology – where the shuffle basically ‘talks’ to you, telling such tidbits as the title of the song and the playlist name, in a selection of different languages to boot – is something that I personally consider as being more of a gimmick. Maybe it’d come in handy when someone asks you the name of the song you’re listening to (assuming you’ve forgotten). Personally, I have so much music already that I couldnt really care less what it’s called most of the time, so long as it’s pleasing to the ears. Nevertheless, the VoiceOver function works reasonably well, pretty much as advertised.

So, is it worth investing a couple more bucks into lining Apple’s already-bulging coffers? Well, after two weeks with this plugged into my ears, i’d have to say both yes and no.

Yes, only if you’re looking for a neat gift for a friend or family member.

No, simply because the earbuds are the biggest deal breaker if you’re not a big fan of listening to random tracks from your music library. You’d be better off shelling out a few extra bills for the iPod nano, which at least has a click wheel and a screen, and you’d probably not notice the extra couple of grams sitting in your pocket either. What’s more, the new iPod shuffle is so small, you run the risk of dropping it somewhere and not realizing it simply because it weighs so little. If you’ve got one of those older second-generation shuffles, and it’s getting pretty beat up, Apple’s still selling them online, best pick up one or two before they completely disappear.

In terms of looks and aesthetics, i’ll be the first to agree that Apple’s done a great job with the new shuffle. After all, slabs of machined aluminum can’t be anything else but cool. In terms of usability however, Apple’s probably removed a little too much this time around for it to make any real sense.

So yeah, a couple of hours ago, the Apple store went offline. Which obviously meant that something was up, usually a new product (or more) being added to the store. Lo and behold, Apple went and introduced a new iPod Shuffle. Cue outpouring of oohs and ahhs. Which is to be expected since, hey, you’ve got to admit it looks pretty damn good.

While the older Shuffle features a literal rainbow of colors, the new one only comes in silver and black. It’s been elongated a little, and the clip at the rear has been retained. You get 4GB of storage on it too. The best part about the iPod Shuffle is it’s totally minuscule size – it’s literally smaller than your thumb. What’s more, Apple’s introducing a new feature called VoiceOver, which is basically the Shuffle telling you the song title, as well as who’s the artist singing said song. Better yet, VoiceOver supports multiple languages, with the current count at 14. If you have a song with a Spanish title, the Shuffle will pronounce the title and artist name in, doh, Spanish.

So what’s the problem?

Take a closer look at the pic above. Notice that the primary playback controls are located along the bundled earbuds’ cable. This is significant because despite the hold and shuffle controls that are located on the Shuffle’s body, unless you use Apple’s bundled earbuds, you have literally no control over volume or playback. This also happens to give Apple an excuse to sell more third-party accessories with built-in controls, leaving users who already have perfectly serviceable third-party earbuds out in the cold.

Then again, for the asking price of US$79 in the US of A (S$128 here in Singapore, and RM309 over in Malaysia), its doubtful that anyone who buys iPod Shuffles would actually bother spending probably the equivalent amount of money on a half-decent pair of in-ear buds.

What’s also interesting is that the idea of shoving the remote control onto the earbud cables isn’t all that new; just about every Sony Walkman sold today has that feature as standard.

Not quite the smartest thing to do in times like these, but hey, Apple’s pretty much made a habit of taking the path less chosen.