The 4GB iPod shuffle, released today, is teensy tiny and virtually button free! Hope you like those Apple earbuds, because that's how you control this gorgeous little thing.

You command your new shuffle with controls on the right earbud cable, which has three "buttons," or as Apple's Guided Tour calls them, "areas." One click on the center will play or pause. Double-click the center to skip to the next track. The plus (top) and minus (bottom) buttons adjust the volume.

It's also got VoiceOver, which talks to you and tells you what song, artist, and playlist you're listening to. When you hold the center button down, VoiceOver announces the title and artist of the track, right over the music. (The Guided Tour demonstrates different voices depending on if you synched with a Mac or a PC, and we're pleased to report the Mac voice is much cooler. As it would be.)

VoiceOver also helps you switch playlists without the benefit of a screen, a first for the iPod shuffle. If you keep holding that center button after the track/artist announcement, you'll hear a little beep and VoiceOver will announce the current playlist name, then read all the other playlists on your shuffle. Then you just click once when it reads the playlist you want. Handy! 

The Guided Tour says the new shuffle is less than half the size of the last iteration (which is still on sale in Apple's online store, $49 for 1GB), and it does look super, ultra, freaky small. It's still got the handy clip on the back, and a Off/Shuffle/Don't Shuffle switch at the top. It comes in silver or black (both are anodized aluminum), but we predict a bunch of colors later on as a "golly gee, colors!!!1!" update. Hopefully we'll see some third-party headphone options that control the shuffle, too, which seems logical. 

The new 4GB shuffle is on sale now for $79.