Briefly: iTunes 7.0.2, iSight shipments, 8GB nano

iTunes 7.0.2

iTunes 7.0.2 (25.5MB) adds support for the Second Generation iPod shuffle, which is due to hit stores this friday.

The update also addresses a variety of stability and performance issues found in iTunes 7 and 7.0.1, Apple said.

iSights now shipping

Also on Tuesday, Apple store customers are reporting that their iSight orders, which have been on hold since September, are finally shipping.

Apple halted shipments of the cam several months ago, around the same time that it removed the product from the European market due to non-compliance with a recent environmental directive.

Oddly enough, the models shipping this week carry the same manufacturer part number ( M8817LL/C) as the iSight available earlier this year and checks with the UK Apple store still reflect no availability of the cam.

Even more perplexing is word from sources that, just as iSights began shipping to customers in the US this week, Apple issued a worldwide end-of-life notice on the cam.

Weak 8GB iPod nano sales?

In a research note issued Monday, Robert W. Baird & Co. analyst Tristan Gerra he has received "additional feedback about weak iPod 8GB nano sales," suggesting further pricing weakness for NAND flash memory in November.

"Our checks as of late last week indicate very weak NOR flash bookings for the month of December, in sharp contrast with Q3, along with the implementation of tight expense controls and/or hiring freezes at several semiconductor companies," the analyst wrote. "NAND flash pricing likely to decline again as 8GB nano sales remain weak, in our view."

Apple's 8GB nano retails for $249 but, other than an additional 4GB of storage and black casing, is otherwise identical to the company's sub-$200 4GB models.