Finally: Apple's long-awaited flash-memory based iPod. The iPod shuffle is white, it comes with 512MB or 1GB of memory, 12-hour rechargeable batteries, there's no screen and it weighs about as much as a packet of chewing gum.

While there probably is another flash-based MP3 player somewhere out there that doesn't have a display, almost all of the shuffle's competitors have some kind of screen to display the menu system or tell you the name of the track that's playing.

So how can the iPod shuffle compete against technically better-equipped flash players? Well, by ignoring the fluff. You see, what matters with a flashbased MP3 player is the price, the amount of memory and the ease of use. In all three of these categories the iPod shuffle beats the competition hands down.

Steve Jobs called the menu systems on other MP3 players "tortuous" in his keynote address at the launch of the shuffle in San Francisco, and do you know what? He's right. Nobody has yet managed to produce a player and software combination that can touch iPod and iTunes, and if Apple was to produce a small flash-memory player that included a screen, some compromises would have to be made.

For user interface-king Apple, this would never do. Instead, its solution is to think different and do away with the screen altogether. Instead, emphasis is placed on one of the most popular features of the iPod - the shuffle option.

Connecting up

Once you've connected the iPod shuffle and selected it in the iTunes Source list, a new set of options, including an Autofill button, appear at the bottom of your track listings. Click Autofill and your iPod shuffle is filled exactly to capacity with a random selection of songs from your music library.

Alternatively, you can drag and drop tracks or playlists onto the shuffle to transfer only the music you want. In the iTunes options you can also choose to use the shuffle as a storage drive. When this mode is activated it appears on your desktop as a drive, which you can drag and drop files to with ease.

Once your music is onto your shuffle you can set it to play a random selection, or to go through the tracks in order using the, unfortuantely fiddly, slider switch on the back. iPod styled Play controls are around the front of the shuffle. Every time you press a button you get a helpful flash from a green LED to confirm your press. There's also a Battery Status button; simply give it a press to find out how much battery you have left.

In the box you also get a CD with update software and an updated version of iTunes, the standard white earphones and a lanyard - a strong cord for hanging the shuffle around your neck.

Some people have criticised the shuffle as looking un-Apple or ugly, but its design fits in with the look of the new iMac G5. In use it's lovely - because it's so light and fits around your neck, it's more portable than the iPod. You forget you're wearing it.

The only frustration we found, was the iPod shuffle refused to work with the unpowered USB hubs that we tried it with, and because of its width we had to unplug other USB devices so we could connect it to our test machine (an iBook).

The idea of the shuffle is attractive. Every day you connect it to your Mac, hit Autofill and you have either 120 or 240 random songs to break the routine of your day. Its 12-hour battery life is simply superb, too, and after using the unit extensively for a week we haven't found the lack of a screen to be a disadvantage at all. We think Apple got it right with the shuffle's ease of use, price point and long battery life. Now bring on the accessories. Graham Barlow