It’s easy to get mesmerized watching the new Apple iPod Shuffle commercials and seeing how the tiny little thing flashes from scene to scene. This product is already available and sitting on the shelves for this holiday’s gift list. Costing $79, the Apple iPod Shuffle is available in stores as well as online.

Goodbye CD player. New musical gadgets are what people are looking for and this one is very small. How small might you ask? Well, to put this into perspective, the iPod shuffle is about the size of an elementary school pink eraser, with dimensions of 1.62 inches long and about a half of an ounce in weight according to Apple.com.

The second generation shuffle holds about 240 songs (as long as each song is four minutes long). According to an Apple Genius (a person who works at the apple store and repairs broken apple products), the battery is only good for up to a year and a new one may be purchased at that time.

A dock is provided with a USB cord to charge the battery and to link it to the computer (which fits either a PC or a Mac) so that the user can upload songs to this new itty-bitty iPod Shuffle.

“Lightweight traveling music studio,” are just a few words to describe this new iPod shuffle, but it has no screen for navigation. Cnet.com said it comes equipped with a five way control pad which allows users to sift through songs with a hold of a button.

The new iPod Shuffle is made for people on-the-go; with a clip to attach this music player to any outfit possible. So for students who like to hide-out in the back of the classroom, this product is much easier to hide under clothes than any other MP3 player.

Apple store retailers would not give any counter information on the product. Both Cnet.com and macworld.com said that most people fear losing the iPod Shuffle due to its size. Macworld.com also said that the size makes it harder to use.

CNet.com said, “In cursory testing, we found the Shuffle’s audio quality to be decent through the included ear buds, but bass was lacking, and we could detect some light static when we twisted the headphone plug during quiet moments.”

Both websites agreed on the common fear and issues that face the second generation iPod, however, they rated it a worthwhile investment for those who just started out in the world of iPods.