Apple slashes iPod shuffle price, intros 2GB version

Apple cut the price of its iPod shuffle, the least expensive of its music players, by AUD$34, and will launch an AUD$89 2GB model later this month, the company announced Tuesday.

The current iPod shuffle, a screen-less player that weighs half an ounce and sports 1GB of flash memory, debuted in September 2006 at $119. The price cut is already effective on the Apple store site.

The price point is a record low for Apple, which launched the first-generation iPod shuffle in January 2005 at US$99 for a 512MB model, US$149 for a device with 1GB of storage.

The 2GB iPod shuffle, which Apple said would be available by the end of February, will hold approximately 480 songs.

Today's announcement was the second time this month that Apple has beefed up storage in its iPod line. Two weeks ago, it added a 32GB iPod touch priced at AUD$629 to the existing lineup that featured 8GB (AUD$399) and 16GB (AUD$499) models.