Shuffle Magic
March 27, 2009My regular iPod is that first generation nano, the one that was notorious for being easy to scratch. Mine is as near-flawless as a nano can be. I really baby it. I recently started using an iPod Shuffle as well, the intention being that it would be my, who cares if it gets dinged, knockabout model.
It’s great in that role, and I also really enjoy the way I can easily access the various controls by feel alone. However, in using the Shuffle I also discovered another stress relieving side effect: I no longer care about the state of the battery.
Even though the battery meter on the nano is grossly inaccurate, I found that I was constantly mindful of my remaining state of charge, and wondering whether I should plug it in just to top it up, or wait until it was in the red zone in order to prolong its overall life.
With the Shuffle I just don’t care. I plug it in, often two or three times a day to re-sync the status of my podcasts and audio books, and I really have no idea whether the battery is near full, or near empty, and neither do I care. It’s never run out on me.
Arthur C. Clarke famously said that great technology is indistinguishible from magic, and so it seems that way with the Shuffle and the way it “just works.”
