Anyone have suggestions for an iPod Shuffle-like player that isn't ridiculously expensive? No screen, just some simple hardware buttons that plays loaded music. That doesn't feel cheap or like it has malware preloaded on it? Should be simple, right? Right? (No, says my shopping experience...)
I don't think I've ever had a more satisfying music listening experience than my original iPod Shuffle, the white stick one which plugged in directly as a USB drive. The simplicity of the switch on the back that toggled between shuffle and non-shuffled modes was perfect. I could load up around 300 of my favorite songs (which, as a high schooler in the heady days of Kazaa and ilk, was about all I possessed), know exactly what I was going to get, and could play hunt-and-seek by toggling between my known playlist order and shuffle. And that was it! No screen getting constant notifications, no navigating through ever-changing hierarchies (looking at you, Music on iOS app), and I didn't even need to be OCD about album art at that point.
I don't think I've ever had a more satisfying music listening experience than my original iPod Shuffle, the white stick one which plugged in directly as a USB drive. The simplicity of the switch on the back that toggled between shuffle and non-shuffled modes was perfect. I could load up around 300 of my favorite songs (which, as a high schooler in the heady days of Kazaa and ilk, was about all I possessed), know exactly what I was going to get, and could play hunt-and-seek by toggling between my known playlist order and shuffle. And that was it! No screen getting constant notifications, no navigating through ever-changing hierarchies (looking at you, Music on iOS app), and I didn't even need to be OCD about album art at that point.
Ah, the glory days... :)