I like to listen to my albums in a random fashion. When a mood hits me, I’ll put on an album. Furthermore, I often like to listen to the tracks on that album randomly. These two are not mutually exclusive.

The following are two simple Ipod changes which can be implemented at the software level to make Ipod’s shuffle features compete with my $30 Panasonic MP3 player, so I hope Ipod can include these in their next software update.

1. I would separate the Shuffle Albums option from the Shuffle Songs option so you can use these independently. You can shuffle all songs, shuffle songs while playing the albums in order, shuffle albums and play the songs in order, or shuffle the albums, and shuffle the songs within those albums.

2. To compliment this feature, I would include (nay, must include) a next album feature. I considered a number of options including doubleclicking the next button and a few other single finger options, but, the best option to avoid conflicting with any other features would be: Hold the middle button and click next/back.

I sincerely hope Apple includes these features in their next software version. They would be very simple to implement, it would make a dramatic improvement to the experience for those who use the features, and those who don’t would barely even notice the change.