It worked for 40 min, now it won't play songs or connect to my PC

Question

I've never had a new, fresh out of the box piece of technology fail on me this quickly. Here is what I did after I bought my shuffle:
1. Installed ipod software and iTunes, restarted my PC
2. Connected shuffle to my high speed USB port
3. Allowed Shuffle to charge for 4 hours as mentioned in manual.
4. After charging, I used iTunes to load up on songs
5. I safely disconnected the iPod using the iTunes disconnect button. I didn't remove the iPod until it the light stopped blinking.
6. Plugged the headphones in and began to listen to all of my songs.
about 35-40 minutes later, it just cut off and died. I turned it off for 10 seconds and turned it back on. It started to play the songs again, but then I lost control of all buttons, couldn't change songs, couldn't adjust volume. (No, the buttons weren't on 'lock' mode, already checked!)
So I turned it off and plugged it back into my high speed USB port. Surprise surprise, now windows will not recognize it at all, it tells me that the device has malfunctioned. So I reset the shuffle, and try again on another USB port, same problem. Thinking it may be my PC, I try it on another PC and get the same error. When I plug it in I get no lights at all, the orange light used to blink when I had it plugged in.
I removed iTunes and the iPod software. I restarted my PC, reinstalled the software, and restarted again. I plug the shuffle in and get the same error. I can't even get the iPod updater to recognize it, so I cannot use that program to restore the iPod.
This is so incredibly frustrating. I debated even buying this MP3 player due to hearing all sorts of horror stories, but I trusted in Apple and took the dive because my old iPod lasted a long time. Now this product has let me down. If anyone has some suggestions on how I might try to fix this thing before I go to return it, please let me know. It hasn't been dropped, hasn't been exposed to water, or damaged in any way. There is no reason for it to be malfunctioning like this.
Now when I turn on the shuffle, the green light on the front lights up for 3 seconds, then the battery light lights up green for about 5 seconds. Then all lights shut off and it sits for a while. If I press the battery button, sometimes it lights up green and sometimes nothing happens. Sometimes it loads up and plays a song or two, but then all buttons freeze and it has to be turned off.

Answer 1

try putting it in a sealed bag of rice for a few hours. if that doesn't work you might need to take it in to an apple store. Warranty does not cover water damaged ipods though.