iPod Shuffle: Breakthrough or Boondoggle?

Danged if I know how the market is going to respond to the iPod Shuffle.

I never listen to the radio now that I have an iPod, and rarely did at other stages of my life. I like to have control over what I hear. I like to hear what I want when I want it.

So the iPod Shuffle is definitely not for me.

But there are a very large number of people who do listen to the radio all day. The iPod Shuffle may be a real breakthrough product for them -- it may give them exactly what they need in the right size, with the right ruggedness, at exactly the right price.

In fact I personally think it may be brilliant -- just the kind of step ahead Apple has built its reputation on. It could, possibly, be the new radio (with the right software on the associated computer, making sure it contains music that will maximize listening pleasure).

I recall reading comments from Steve Jobs in the last couple of years where he said, in passing, that shuffle mode was the big feature on the iPod because it allowed you to rediscover parts of your library that you may have forgotten. That perception on his part may be the ultimate cause of the iPod Shuffle's existence.

Partly because of those comments, I did find myself experimenting with shuffle for a while. And I found that he had a real point. It did let me hear things that I wouldn't have played otherwise in a near time frame, and that I enjoyed rediscovering. For me, those benefits are still outweighed by playing what I want to play when I want to play it, so I ended up not using it after those few experiments.

But "different strokes for different folks."

It's really interesting to watch the output of Steve Jobs' ongoing attempts to create the future. I wonder what will happen with this one.