iPod Shuffle arrives in stores this Friday

Apple's new iPod Shuffle (or Shuffle 2.0 as some have been calling it) will arrive in retail stores this Friday. The company announced the device well back in September at their 'Showtime' event in San Francisco along with the iTV, and it has taken a while for the Shuffle to actually ship. Apple said at their last earnings report that the unit would ship 'at the end of October' or 'in a few weeks' so they are hitting their shipping date as forecast.

The new Shuffle has an aluminum case, a built in clip, and is even smaller than the original Shuffle (it looks about the size of a matchbook). It will be $79 and holds 1GB of songs. You can see what it looks like in its retail packaging over at our sister site, Engadget.

I'm not sure how much the Shuffle will contribute to the bottom line for the holiday sales with Apple. The Nano will probably have higher margins and a bigger impact, but the Shuffle is a nice price point and should move fairly well. Having them available at the start of November will certainly add to sales as that initial burst of sales comes out. Certainly the form factor will be more attractive than the previous Shuffle, I wouldn't be surprised for Shuffle 2.0 to do better than Shuffle 1.0 for Apple.