I'm a huge fan of the iPod - I'm on my third, it's a 30GB, and as soon as the 60GB price lowers (or they come out with an 80), I'm all over it.
I initially thought that the iPod shuffle, like the iPod mini, was a dumb idea. With the mini, it was $200 for 4GB, and for $50 more you could get the 15 GB iPod. Apparently, though I was the only one who thought the mini was dumb, as everybody bought one.
So I thought the same thing with the iPod shuffle until I thought about my wife. She likes music but isn't a huge music nut, like I am. 120 songs at her fingertips would be just about more than she would know what to do with. And the thing looks cool, especially hanging around her neck. She's been interested in the iPod and the mini, but I feel like buying her one of those would be a complete waste.
I do think that the lack of a display is lame, but I understand that they did it so they could keep the size small as well as the price low. They were very clever to come up with this entire "life is random" advertising scheme to make it look like it was a benefit instead of a detriment.
The honest truth is that there are some people out there who don't need 500-15,000 songs. They just need a few CDs worth. The iPod shuffle is made for them.
I'd get one for my wife today...if only the Apple stores weren't already completely sold out.