First of all, this is not a review, simply my impressions of the new machine and my speculations.
  The iPod shuffle is a tiny device that will shift the paradigm of the mp3 player.  Recent trends have indicated that the HDD player would eventually dominate the market, with more memory per dollar.  However, the Shuffle is capable of expanding Apple’s market share to users who are less willing to drop $275 on an iPod mini than the typical urban yuppie.
  The shuffle is nothing new.  2 years ago, I bought a Creative Muvo One, which was a flash based player with 128 MB of memory that cradeled inside a AAA battery holder.  The entire unit was about the size of 2 AA batteries next to each other.  I loved it.  It was extremely usable with it’s plug-and-play capacity, useful as flash memory and had decently long battery life.  The shuffle is merely the next iteration of this idea.  The size and battery life are both very similar, but the memory is obviously greater and the battery rechargeable.  However, the shuffle will introduce everyone who has always wanted an iPod but could never afford it into the mp3 player world.  These are the kind of people who have never considered buying anything from the competition, or don’t realize that such a device exists.  Talking to my classmates about the idea, many never realized that there was even such a thing as a cheap, flash-based mp3 player.  Those who were originally reluctant to make such a large investment in an iPod will be the ones immediately swayed by the concept a device which fufulls the aesthetic standard of the iPod name and the ones who will catapault the shuffle to the highest-selling flash based player on the market.  Apple has the name, the reputation, and the marketing prowess to make it happen, and they’ll sell plenty.