Apple's IPod Shuffle Shrinks by Half
Apple Inc. introduced a new iPod Shuffle that is about half the size of its previous model but with the capacity to play twice as many songs, as the company tries to re-energize its iPod business.
The new $79 four-gigabyte device will play as many as 1,000 songs, the same as the first iPod, which sold for $399 in 2001. The new model will allow users to switch between multiple playlists, which wasn't possible with previous models.
It also includes a new voice feature that announces songs and playlists in 14 languages. One of the key differences from the previous Shuffle is that all of the controls are now on the earphone cord rather than on the device.
'When we looked at how we can get it even smaller and keep it fun and easy to use, we realized we could take the controller right out of the Shuffle,' Philip Schiller, Apple's marketing chief, said Wednesday.
The latest model comes as the Cupertino, Calif., company faces declining revenue from its maturing iPod business. The devices still dominate the market for digital music players, and Apple sold a record number of iPods in the quarter ended Dec. 27. Yet iPod revenue fell 16% to $3.4 billion as the devices have gotten less expensive over time.
Analysts expect iPod growth to be limited as the overall market reaches saturation. According to the Consumer Electronics Association, digital music players are now in 46% of U.S. households, up from 20% in 2006.
Apple declined comment on how the new product will affect revenue, but the new Shuffle is $10 more expensive than the older two-gigabyte Shuffle model, which the company plans to phase out. The company doesn't break out Shuffle sales, but brokerage firm Kaufman Brothers estimates that Apple could sell two million to 2.5 million Shuffles in the current quarter, which ends in March.
The new Shuffle comes just a week after the company updated its Macintosh desktop computers and amid widespread speculation about what new products Apple might introduce this year. |
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