Apple has introduced an all-new iPod shuffle, saying it is the world’s smallest music player at nearly half of the size of the previous model. It is also the first music player that talks to its user.

The new VoiceOver feature enables iPod shuffle to speak song titles, artists and playlist names on a touch of a button. iPod shuffle can even tell you status information, such as battery life. It can speak 14 languages including English, Czech, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish and Turkish.

The third generation iPod shuffle is significantly smaller than a AA battery, holds up to 1,000 songs and is brings all of the controls to the earphone cord.

With the press of a button, you can play, pause, adjust volume, switch playlists and hear the name of the song and artist. iPod shuffle features a gorgeous new aluminum design with a built-in stainless steel clip that makes it ultra-wearable.

“Imagine your music player talking to you, telling you your song titles, artists and playlist names,” said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s vice president of iPod and iPhone Product Marketing. “The amazingly small new iPod shuffle takes a revolutionary approach to how you listen to your music by talking to you, also making it the first iPod shuffle with playlists.”

iPod shuffle is based on Apple’s popular shuffle feature, which randomly selects songs from your music library.

The new iPod shuffle comes in silver or black with a built-in stainless steel clip. The new device features up to 10 hours of battery life.

The third generation 4GB iPod shuffle is now shipping and comes in silver or black for a suggested price of US$79 through the Apple Store