I picked up an iPod shuffle on Monday, and really like even though it seems like a step backwards from my other iPod. It is very simple and basic. Either play the songs in the order you have arranged them from start to finish or let it shuffle through your songs. It definitely fills a need I had for an inexpensive flash based player for working out or when I don't want to have to lug my "heavy" iPod around. It beats the old Rio I had, that I paid more than twice as much for. Not only do I no longer have to create MP3 files from songs I've bought from iTunes, it's nice to be able to rearrange the order of the songs on the iPod Shuffle in iTunes. My old Rio the order they were load onto the device was the order they played, no changing allowed. It is extremely light and a convenient size. I just wish it had a clip of some sort instead of the lanyard. It was worth the $99 for the 512 MB version.