3rd-Gen shuffle Now in 2GB Form ($59) - Improved Design

During yesterday’s keynote address at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced new price points for the third-generation iPod shuffle, now available in 2GB and 4GB forms. The former, priced at $59, comes in silver, black, pink, blue and green, as does the $79 model, boasting 4GB of flash memory. A special edition shuffle is also available for $99 (stainless-steel design) – Apple-Store exclusive.

“iPod shuffle is the world’s smallest music player and now comes in five great colors starting at just $59,” Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing, said. “iPod shuffle is so small that you almost forget it’s there, yet remarkably, it holds up to 1,000 songs and talks to you.”

Introduced in March 2009, the third-generation iPod shuffle boasts an extra capability compared with its predecessor – VoiceOver. The feature is what gave enough reason to call it “the iPod That Talks to You.” Apple also touts this iPod as “the world’s smallest music player.” The device is nearly half the size of the previous model, and is significantly smaller than an AA battery. In 4GB form, it is able to hold up to 1,000 songs, while all the controls are conveniently located on the earphone cord, enabling users to play, pause, adjust the volume, switch playlists and enable VoiceOver with a few presses.

“iPod shuffle is based on Apple’s incredibly popular shuffle feature, which randomly selects songs from your music library,” Apple explains in the official report announcing the new price points and memory options. “iPod shuffle features a sleek and ultra-wearable design with a built-in stainless steel clip. iPod shuffle users can easily clip it to almost anything and take it everywhere,” the company says, emphasizing what a wearable asset the player really is.

Also announced by Apple yesterday was that third-party manufacturers, including Sony, V-MODA, Klipsch and Scosche, were supporting built-in controls with their headphones at the moment. Belkin and Scosche offer built-in headphone adapters.