Apple today introduced the new iPod shuffle, now the world's smallest digital music player with the company's pioneering shuffle feature that lets music fans serve up a continuous mix of their favorite songs anywhere they go.
"It's hard to believe the new iPod is a real music player when you first see it," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "But it is real, and holds up to 240 songs in an incredibly compact and wearable design that weighs just half an ounce."
iPod shuffle is based on Apple's popular shuffle feature which lets users enjoy their songs in a random order. Or listeners can simply flip a switch to listen to their songs in order, such as when listening to a new album. iPod shuffle features up to 12 hours of battery life.*
Users connect the new iPod shuffle to their Mac or PC with the included dock, and iTunes' innovative AutoFill feature automatically syncs the perfect number of songs from their music library. Seamless integration with iTunes 7 and the iTunes Store allows customers to choose from a selection of over 3.5 million songs from the world's most popular digital music store.
Pricing & Availability
The new iPod shuffle is expected to be available worldwide in October through the Apple Store, Apple's retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers for $79 (US). iPod shuffle includes earbud headphones and an iPod shuffle Dock.
iPod shuffle requires a Mac with a USB 2.0 port and Mac OS X version 10.3.9 or later and iTunes 7.0 or later; or a Windows PC with a USB 2.0 port and Windows 2000 (Service Pack 4), Windows XP Home or Professional (Service Pack 2) and iTunes 7.0 or later. Internet access is required and a broadband connection is recommended.
* Battery life and number of charge cycles vary by use and settings. See www.apple.com/batteries for more information. Music capacity is based on four minutes per song and 128-Kbps AAC encoding; actual capacity varies by content.
42 Comments
so tiny!
I want one of these more than any of the iPods announced today (I already have a 5G iPod- *crosses finger for firmware update for new features*)- damn they're small...
What a let down. Only one color, no new features and nothing to get excited about other than size and price.
Apple should offer these things in every color of the rainbow and there should have been at least one new "wow" feature.
I would prefer that they dropped the Shuffle and went for a horizontal iPod Video.
I think that this is a genius design. A built-in clip! I had actually never thought of that. It's not meant to be shown off with bright colors...it looks to me like the point is subtlety for this one. I'm actually tempted, and I never thought I'd say that about a screen-less iPod.