iPod Shuffle
Although I preferred using PDAs running mobile versions of Windows to listen to music, I owned a couple of models of iPods over the years. Without a doubt, the iPod Shuffle was my absolute favorite. An interesting side effect of carrying hundreds of songs in your pocket was the ability to shuffle through your collection and randomly enjoy tracks without the hassle of creating a playlist.
For me, the iPod Shuffle was a music exploration and discovery tool, serving up tracks from deeper into albums that I otherwise wouldn’t seek out to play deliberately. It was also incredibly small and lightweight—not much bigger than a pack of Juicy Fruit gum—and nearly indestructible, especially compared to my larger iPod that seemed to get scratched by just breathing on it. It was an MP3 player boiled down to its bare essentials, with a cleverly integrated USB port and a streamlined user interface that didn’t need a screen.
