Apple to roll out tiny iPod Shuffle this Friday

Apple Computer Inc. has announced Tuesday that it would start selling the new version of the iPod Shuffle which the company says is the world’s smallest digital music player, from November 3.

The new matchbook-size iPod shuffle MP3 player will be available in stores from this Friday, the Cupertino, California based Apple said.

About half the size of the original, the new smallest iPod shuffle weighs 14 grams and is just 1.62-inches long. Priced at just $79, the shuffle contains one gigabyte of flash memory which holds up to 240 songs. It features a minimal aluminum design with a built-in clip, which makes it the most wearable iPod ever. The new shrunken iPod shuffle includes ear-bud headphones and an iPod shuffle dock.

Greg Joswiak, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide iPod Product Marketing, said “The new iPod shuffle completes our all-new lineup of iPods for this holiday season and beyond, and we hope it's going to be a huge hit.”

The new music player is powered with up to 12 hours of battery life and is based on Apple’s original shuffle feature which allows music lovers serve up a nonstop mix of their favorite music numbers anywhere they go. Users can either listen to the songs in random order or in the order they determined on their computer by flipping a switch. But like the original, it does not have a display to show what is playing.

Along with the new rainbow-colored iPod nanos and an updated iPod video, the new shuffle was introduced by the Apple CEO Steve Jobs at a special event in San Francisco, in September. Of which, the former two are already available for sale and the latter was scheduled to start shipping in October.

Apple, which is continuously making efforts to keep its rival Microsoft at bay, will face new competition from Redmond based software maker which is planning to release its first-branded music player, Zune, on Nov. 14. Like Apple's video iPod, the Zune player is set to retail at $250 and contain 30-gigabytes of memory. Zune is also embedded with a built-in FM radio and Wi-Fi connectivity so that users can share music and images with other Zune players located in specified area.

Today, the company continues to lead the industry in innovation with its award-winning desktop and notebook computers, also spearheading the digital music revolution with its iPod portable music players and iTunes online music store.

As per the market analysts’ estimates, the company may boost its revenue this quarter by selling the record breaking number of iPods. It may sell 15.6 million iPods this quarter, topping the record 14 million retailed in the previous holiday season, said UBS AG analyst Benjamin Reitzes in New York.

Since their debut in year 2001, more than 67.6 million iPods are sold worldwide. The iPod possesses a 77 percent share of the U.S. market, according to researcher NPD Group Inc. SanDisk Corp., Apple's closest rival, holds less than 10 percent of market share.

With the launch of the smallest iPod shuffle Apple hopes to dominate the music player industry at least for the next 12 to 18 months.

About the latest device, David Card, an analyst with JupiterResearch in New York, said in an interview “This version is a huge refinement over the original one. It's not just a cheap iPod. This is the other device you'll have. Surveys show a lot of multi-device ownership among iPod owners.''

Shares of Apple on Tuesday jumped 66 cents to $81.08 in NASDAQ Stock Market composite trading.