The 1st generation iPod shuffle is a USB Drive stylized iPod. It lacks a screen and and offers little storage when compared to all other iPods in the iPod lineup. It only has one play mode: Shuffle. Since most people used their iPods just to shuffle, this allowed people to use this ability at a lower cost of entry than a full-sized iPod. It had a low cost-of-entry. This iPod was also praised for its fantastic sound when compared to the next generation¹. The 1 gigabyte model cloud hold 240 songs (AAC, 128kbit/s) while the 512 megabyte model cloud hold 120 songs (AAC, 128kbit/s).
 Front view of the first generation iPod shuffle | |
| Developer | Apple |
|---|---|
| Generation | 1st |
| Release date | January 11, 2005 |
| Introductory price | $99 (512MiB), $149 (1GiB) |
| Discontinued | September 12, 2006 |
| Units sold | ---- |
| CPU | SigmaTel D-Major STMP 3550 @ 75 MHz |
| Memory | ---- |
| Storage | 512MiB, 1GiB |
| Display | None |
| Successor | iPod shuffle (2nd Generation) |
| ARBL | 12 hours MP3/AAC playback |
| Battery | 450 mAh Li-Po |
| External Interface | USB 2.0 (with support for USB 1.1) |
| Maximum capacity | This iPod has no(or at least no easy) option to upgrade the storage. |
The iPod Shuffle could also be used as a flash drive, featuring the latest USB 2 technology.
New features
Due to the introduction of this iPod, Apple released a new feature on iTunes to lower the bitrate of songs to 128kbit/s to reach the 120- or 240 song advertised capacity.
Stripped down
The iPod Shuffle was lacked many features when compared to the iPod. This was because this iPod was targeted at people who wanted just shuffle functionality and a lower cost of entry into the iPod lineup.
One of the main things that were taken away by Apple was the display and click wheel. Due to this, you cloud not know which song you were playing or scroll through a list of your songs.
Apple has also taken away the ability to play lossless audio, removing ALAC (Apple Lossless) and AIFF entirely from the Shuffle. You would have to convert it to AAC or MP3 to sync it with the iPod.
Sound
The iPod Shuffle was praised for it's great sound, some even going as far as saying that the Shuffle had better sound than the flagship iPod fourth-generation. The SigmaTel STMP35xx SOC and SDK had superior audio technology giving it better bass response.
Advertising
The iPod shuffle was advertised heavily, on the streets, on TV and on the internet, advertising started with silhouette ads and ended with photos of real people with iPods.
Notes
[1] https://www.headfonia.com/back-to-the-future-friday-the-original-apple-ipod-shuffle/
