It's okay to worry about being caught up in the hype. After all, this is not the first, smallest or most feature-rich flash-memory player on the market. However, in a twist that seems to be Apple's theme of the moment, it is the most affordable. It's also, in some ways, the simplest to use. And while you might suppose, like I did, that budget constraints forced a shiny LCD out of the blueprint during revisions, Apple claims it was never a consideration, and that you really don't need an LCD screen to listen to 100 songs all shuffled up.

That's right, 100 songs. I synched the 512MB player using a random assortment of files from my music collection, mainly MP3s ripped at a variable bit rate just north of 160Kbps, along with some 128Kbps AAC files from Apple's iTunes Music Store. When docked, the Shuffle is injected with a random assortment of music from the iTunes library, or any particular playlist you identify at the time. You can also load it up with particular favorites, like more traditional players, or put on your favorites and just top it off with random picks. No matter how I shook it up, I averaged just around 100 songs.

As simple as it is to load and play, some of the Shuffle's requirements assume an unusual degree of savvy. There's nothing strange about its rechargeable battery — which Apple reports to deliver at least 12 hours of continuous play, and in my testing ran for about 13 hours — but there's no dedicated battery charger in the pack. You charge the battery by leaving it docked, so it can "trickle charge" through the USB port. (If you like, you can buy a dedicated charger. Apple also offers a backpack that will let you run the player for an extra 20 hours on two AAA batteries, but not only does it wreck the design aesthetic, but the use of disposable batteries seems to be, at least to Apple, a wasteful, anachronistic practice.) You know the battery juice is nearing the end when a little green light on the back turns yellow then red.

The absence of a "hold" button or switch adds to this air of technical sophistication. Like Bluetooth headsets for cell phones, you control the hold function by holding down the Play/Pause button for three seconds. When you see a flashing yellow flashing light, you know the buttons are locked. To unlock, hold down the Play/Pause again until you see a green flashing light.

It's very easy to write extensively about music players these days without ever mentioning sound quality, but let me set some minds at ease: it sounds great. There's no audible difference between the iPod Shuffle and its larger kin. The funny thing is, when I was testing, I discovered that a) Led Zeppelin really does sound better remastered and b) I need a new pair of over-the-ear headphones, because the included iPod earbuds — which I physically don't like — still blew them away.

Does the Shuffle count as an iPod? I have a sideways answer: I think that people who own iPods will want an iPod Shuffle. Not only is it undeniably affordable, but as a lightweight plastic thingamajig with no moving parts, it can go where a hard-disk iPod risks more long-term damage. But that doesn't mean it isn't still sly Apple marketing. Somewhere on a dry-erase board in Cupertino, there's a formula showing exactly how many cool kids must be seen with iPod Shuffles before the rest of the world suddenly, instinctually, races to a store to plunk down cash for that little white slice of heaven. Wouldn't Bill Gates love to see that formula?