The third-generation iPod shuffle is here, and not a soul saw it coming. (These days, that's a rarity.) Apple's new buttonless wonder has been making waves and ruffling feathers in the days since its introduction, so we took some time with it to really see whether the hype—and the hate—was warranted.

Unlike the 2G shuffle, which came in a variety of colors, the third-gen iPod shuffle now comes in only two "colors" (if you can even call them that)—black and silver. This is sure to disappoint color enthusiasts and parents who love giving shuffles as stocking stuffers, but we wouldn't be surprised to see colors return to the shuffle line in time. More importantly, however, the new shuffle now comes with 4GB of storage space for the same price ($79) as the 2G shuffle's 1GB. That's half of an iPhone 3G, or a low-end 4G iPod nano.

What your $79 gets you

The 3G iPod shuffle comes in a square plastic box designed along the same lines as the packaging for other iPods.

The shuffle and headphone clicker are suspended front and center, while the USB 2.0 cable, remainder of the headphones, and a small instruction booklet are nestled underneath.

Compared to the previous shuffle...

Compared to the previous shuffle, the new version obviously has no buttons, which is its main selling point, of course. We'll elaborate on this further into the review. Other than the lack of buttons, the new shuffle is also smaller and more stick-like, though it's still much tinier than the original gum-pack-sized shuffle. It's just a hair thinner than the second-gen shuffle (0.3" thick versus the 2G's 0.41").