Apple iPod Shuffle is a flash based MP3 player that come in 0.5GB and 1.0GB sizes, and can act as a USB 2.0 mass-storage device by taking off the cap on the bottom. It will have have no display as you can see, but it is interfaced with simple play / pause, volume up / down, track foward / back buttons, and a slider on the rear that engages the player and plays songs in order or shuffled. In that little 3.3 x 0.33 x 0.98-inch package you’ve also got a USB-rechargeable 12-hour battery. The whole thing weighs 0.78 ounces. Not too shabby for a flash player!

ipod shuffles dimensions

Apple iPod Shuffle comes with Lithium-ion batteries pack in a higher power density than Nickel-based batteries. This gives you a longer battery life in a lighter package, as Lithium is the lightest metal. You can also recharge a Lithium-ion battery whenever convenient.

iPod Shuffle Lithium-ion batteries use a fast charge to charge the device to 80% battery capacity, then switch to trickle charging. That’s about two hours charge time to power iPod to 80% capacity, then another two hours to fully charge iPod. Interestingly, a charge cycle means using all of the battery’s power, but that doesn’t necessarily mean a single charge. For instance, you could listen to your iPod for a few hours one day, using half its power, and then recharge it fully. If you did the same thing the next day, it would count as one charge cycle, not two.

Compare this to the older Nickel-based batteries - these older type of batteries requires full charge or discharge cycle necessary to keep Nickel-based batteries at peak performance. Also over time, crystals build up in older Nickel-based batteries and prevent you from charging them completely, necessitating an inconvenient full discharge.