Apple has just announced iPod shuffle, its USB flash drive type MP3 player. It weighs only 22 grams. There are 2 models: one with 512MB and the other 1GB. iPod shuffle supports MP3, AAC and even WAV files. The battery can run for 12 hours (and will be fully recharged in 4 hours).

iPod shuffle can connect with a Mac or PC via a USB port (of course it supports USB 2.0) using the iTunes software. The new tagline is “Life is Random” . When plugged into the USB port, iTunes Autofill will randomly updates the contents of iPod shuffle according to the capacity of iPod shuffle and your style. You can of course turn off the Autofill function and add the songs manually.

The US Apple online store sells the 512MB model at US$99 and the 1GB one at US$149, the Hong Kong store has no price tags yet. The Hong Kong Apple online store is selling the 2 models at HK$780 and HK$1,170 respectively, and they are supposed to be shipped within 2 weeks.

Although it does not have any display, iPod shuffle looks really sexy.

Update (2005.01.13@18:00): Unpacking the iPod shuffle