For any portable device, battery life should be of key consideration. We tested both MP3 players by looping 240MB worthof assorted MP3 files with the volume set at 50 percent till their batteries gave out. Then we repeat the same process and took the average timings for both.
The Tangent fails this criterion completely with a terrible battery life of 6 hours 32 minutes compared with the shuffle's 15 hours 39 minutes. Both the manufacturer-claimed battery life is 12 hours for both, the shuffle exceeded expectations while the Tangent fell short.
