World's smallest' MP3 player

If you like your gadgets mini then you're sure to love the new iPod Shuffle,
launched by Apple yesterday. The 4GB shuffle is touted as the world's smallest music player and measures 1,8"x0.3", about the same size as an AA battery. Users can control their songs and playlists from an earphone cord using a new VoiceOver feature, which announces the songs to users in 14 different languages. A new feature on the iPod shuffle announces songs to its user. It will carry up to 1,000 tunes.

Priced at $79 or around £60, the nifty gizmo carries up to 1,000 tracks, which is twice as many as the last generation of Shuffles.
The Shuffle is tiny because it does not have a display screen like most iPods or other digital music players. The Voiceover feature is therefore crucial in helping users navigate around their song lists.

'You previously couldn't have multiple playlists on the iPod Shuffle because you couldn't really switch between them as there was no way to know how you would switch,' Apple vice president of iPod marketing Greg Joswiak said. The VoiceOver feature works by synchronizing with a user's iTunes software, which installs a voice kit on the user's computer. VoiceOver can also tell a user how much battery life remains.

'We are innovating in that sub-$100 space where everybody else is worrying about cutting quarter here and a dime there and we're trying to bring additional value to our customers,' Mr Joswiak said. The iPod shuffle will cost around £60. The iPod music player played a crucial role in reviving the Apple company's fortunes. Apple has sold more than 200 million iPods since they launched in 2001. It launched the first Shuffle in January 2005.

No announcements have been made on the rumoured touch-screen Apple Netbook. Speculation is rife on the web after the Chinese-language Commercial Times said the Taiwan-based Quanta Computer would build an Apple netbook with touch screens supplied by Wintek. Fuel was added to the fire when the Dow Jones Newswires in Taipai suggested the netbook would have a display of around 10 inches.

Apple's Hong Kong spokeswoman, Jill Tan, said the company did not comment on market speculation.