Ok, you can’t really surprise me with anything, but this little gadget is a clear signal that the future from science fiction books is becoming a reality.

What got me so excited? This new 1Gb iPod Shuffle.

I think I’m more exited about the ingenuity of one company than about the product itself, but the actual unit is pretty cool too. It features a tiny USB cradle for sync and charging, a pair of headphones, and some Apple decals. The capacity is 1 gigabyte (I fit 140 songs @ 128kbps).

It’s extremely thin, light, and durable. I already dropped it a few times, and its aluminum body is holding up pretty well. Sure beats older, longer plastic Shuffles.

Hang it on your jeans, and rock.

So what do I think?

• Though Apple is a cult I never belonged to, I like their Shuffle mp3 players. Simple, durable, lightweight, no complicated controls, and roomy for all my songs. Perfect.
• I was the early adopter on this one and pre-ordered it a few months ago. It just flew in from China this morning.
• I bought it for about $85 out the door (free shipping, free engraving) off Apple website. I wanted an mp3 player to replace my old 512K Shuffle.
• I cannot wait to work out again!
• Everyone at work pretty much flipped out. You should have seen the older guys – they kept talking about reel tape records weighing 200 lbs and contrasting them with this little unit. Must be hard to realize something you grew up with sucks.
• I don’t like iTunes. I think it’s slow and annoying. However, because of this gadget’s awesomeness, I can deal.

Oh yeah, the CD on the pic is the stable and free version of Kubuntu Linux (read: coo-bun-too), which rules as hard as this new iPod.