Hey Justin,
I just did a very scientific test
- Start up is long, and I have to push play twice(?). This is the single most annoying factor to me.
-When I change a track manually it takes about two to three seconds or less. Some tags contain umlaut (ä, ö etc. used a lot in Sweden (and Germany, obviously). I like Swedish music). Some contain other 'special' letters such as æ, ø and å. All are, however, part of Latin1, I think.
-When it switches between tracks itself it's less than five seconds. Probably more like two to three seconds. One also have to keep in mind that some tracks contain silence in the beginning and the end.
-Sometimes when I skip through a lot of tracks it takes a little longer.
- Three minutes isn't acceptable or normal. Something is wrong. Either with the tracks or the software or the player itself. I doubt it's the software and I also doubt it's the player... I'm no expert though.
I hope you get your girlfriend's Shuffle working. It's a nicer player.