APPLE SHAKES IT UP 17/01/2005

The iPod Shuffle

Just when other jukebox manufacturers start mastering the iPod game, Apple breaks the rules. Apple's first flash music player, the skip-free iPod shuffle, is a minimalist delight. The ultracompact 22g unit forgoes an LCD display in favour of a small control panel to play, pause, skip and adjust track volume. It comes in sizes of 512MB (£69 inc. VAT) or 1GB (£99 inc. VAT) for storing 120 or 240 songs, and it has a 12-hour estimated battery life.

Once the iPod shuffle is hooked up to your computer's USB port, iTunes autofills it with a random selection of tracks. A slider button switches between Repeat, Shuffle and Play in Order mode, which lets you listen to an album from start to finish if you're feeling predictable. Convergence is so last year.

Contact: www.apple.com/uk