The shuffle-Tangent standoff

Round 2: Unraveling the features

Winner:
The Tangent

Tangent wins

Both the shuffle and the Tangent offer the same capacity selections of 512MB and 1GB and, in keeping with the Zen minimalism that Apple embodies, features are a rare luxury in the shuffle. In fact, the shuffle rather resembles a throwback to the earlier days of MP3 players. No display, no equalizers, no FM radio, and no recording of any kind. The Tangent, on the hand, tries to address these deficiencies with exactly what the shuffle lacks: Voice recording; FM radio; and even a bass enhancer.

The shuffle, however, has an ace up its sleeve--the iTunes music software which comes bundled free. With iTunes, options like the configurable autofill (which fills up the shuffle automatically with songs each time it's synced with the computer) and playlists are fully supported, while the Tangent still relies on a drag-and-drop interface. Yet the iTunes also represents a caveat for the shuffle: It is not possible to transfer songs into the shuffle without going through iTunes other than resorting to hacks.

We don't know about you, but we feel we would like to carry our features with us. This round goes decisively to the Tangent.

	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4	Round 5	Round 6	Round 7
Super Tangent
iPod shuffle

Back to intro

Go to the bouts:
	Round 1: Getting Physical	Round 6: Accessorizing the kit
	Round 2: Unraveling the features	Round 7: Compatibility issues
	Round 3: Ease of use
	Round 4: Just performance
	Round 5: How long you play?

« Round 1: Getting Physical | Round 3: Ease of use »

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The shuffle-Tangent standoff

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