Hey, remember the Luxpro Super Shuffle / Super Tangent? That Taiwanese KIRF of the original iPod shuffle? Back in 2005 it ruffled some feathers in Cupertino with an appearance at CeBIT, went under a slight redesign, and was eventually brought to court by Apple's lawyers, prompting Luxpro to vow vengeance -- and nearly two years later, it's finally filed that promised countersuit against Apple. The suit alleges that Apple uses unfair tactics to squash competitors as part of its "unending aspiration" to maintain a monopoly in the PMP game, and throws in a dash of that never-works iTunes-tying argument for good measure. Luxpro also says the Super Tangent was "obviously" different than the original iPod shuffle (uh, sure) and that Apple was just being a bully when it tried to get the Super Shuffle removed from trade shows and importer lists. We'll see how this one plays out -- we've got a feeling it'll end pretty quickly.

[Thanks, Mark]

It would have been juicier if Microsoft hadn't announced the fall Zune lineup a day early and gone directly head-to-head with Apple's newly refreshed iPod lineup, but the fact is that if you're in the market for a new player the past 48 hours have delivered a slew of new options. Microsoft concentrated on the software side of the equation with Zune 3.0, but Redmond's players themselves got a WiFi music store, some new games, and Buy From FM, while Apple added in new Genius playlists across the board and updated the iPod nano's form factor and UI. At the high end of the capacity scale, the Zune seems to have the win on paper -- both the Zune 120 and the iPod classic frustratingly top out at 120GB, but the classic's stagnated essentially at the level of the 5.5G video iPod while the Zune 120 carries all the features of its smaller siblings. On top of all that, you have the newly-thinner iPod touch, with all of its browsing, media, gaming, and third-party application features -- and the lost purity of purpose adding all features those entails. That's a ton of choices -- so c'mon, kids, what's it going to be?

Although not announced, the iPod shuffle also got turned out in four new colors in addition to the ol' standby, (PRODUCT) RED. Still 1GB and 2GB for $49 and $69, respectively. Hey, what more do you want, aluminum MacBooks? See what's been left behind after the break.

Break out the champagne, that Apple spec bump you've been waiting for is finally here: the 2GB iPod shuffle is shipping as of today. It'll set you back a cool $69, but if you've decided to hold off on this round of lackluster MacBook updates, we're guessing you've got the cash. Go ahead, you've earned it.

It's turning into quite the day for shuffle aficionados. Apple just slash the price on its 1GB iPod shuffle this AM to a very palatable $49, and now the company is pushing a brand new 2GB version out the door for $69. The color selections will be the same as little brother, including a (PRODUCT) RED version. It'll be available later this month.

With little fanfare a new iPod package has made its way onto Target shelves in the name of cancer. The pink shuffle -- which may or may not be different than the hot pink model from the last-gen shuffles -- comes packaged with a $15 iTunes Gift Card, courtesy of Target, who is donating a portion of the proceeds to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation, totalling $25,000. Happily, the player maintains its $79 price tag, so barring an aversion to pink or cancer cures, you've really got no reason not to seek one of these out. They're only in retail stores, and there's no telling when supplies will run out.

[Thanks, Kiwi616]

And to round out the day's hardware hands-ons we wrapped our mitts around the new iPod classic. It's thin, it's solid, but it's still hard drive based, which for our flash-loving selves will always be kind of a bummer. But if you're the type that carries around 80 (or 160 friggin gigs) of media and you like to use iPods, this is the new king of the hill. (Photographed is the 80GB model, not the thicker 160GB iPod.) Unfortunately, tasks like Cover Flow ran about as (un)smoothly as on the nano, so if you're expecting a fully iPhone-like experience, don't get your hopes up.

P.S. -The new shuffles were difficult to find, but we also threw a couple shots of those in the gallery for good measure.

Here it is, just like we expected: the 1GB (PRODUCT) RED shuffle. Same $79, available today. Buy it and make little Oprabono cry. Put on your Easter Bunny suit and check all the pastel action in the gallery below. Red, Ah... Lavender, Ew.

Check your pulse Apple fanatics, "the beat goes on" September 5th... now just two days away. Unusual for Apple rumors, this event has pretty much all the analysts and so-called insiders in sync with their predictions. Mass disillusion or divine soothsaying, we don't know. Certainly everyone's been expecting this to be a big quarter for product transitions. While we wait, we figured you might as well get up to speed on all the predictions for Wednesday's big show:

• iPod Touch with flash-memory, WiFi and OS X-based Cover Flow user interface
• iPod nano "phatty"
• Wireless iTunes store sales for iPhone and wireless iPod(s)
• (PRODUCT) Red iPod shuffle
  
• iTunes ringtone service
• Beatles on iTunes -- yes, again
  

While not necessarily rumored for Wednesday, there's always a chance that we'll hear a bit more about Apple's automotive collaborations with Volkswagen and Jaguar. Just sayin's all.

AppleInsider totally called it last time with the Oprah-launched (PRODUCT) RED iPod nano, so we're inclined to believe that they may have the inside line on Bono's latest attempt to cozy up with the Jobsian Empire, in the form of a signature-red shuffle refresh purportedly being announced at the upcoming "Beat Goes On" event. For those of you tracking these sort of things, this (PRODUCT) RED shuffle claim follows the nano Phatty, iPod Touch, Beatles on iTunes, and portable Coverflow rumors on the list of possible announcements to be made on September 5th at the Moscone Center -- among many others that we probably haven't picked up on. Okay, back to your regular programming, but don't get too comfy, because the next 'inside scoop' could be just minutes away...

[Image courtesy of AppleInsider, thanks jungzandvliet]

Creative's done quite the about-face from the early days of calling the iPod Shuffle "worse than the worst Chinese player" -- the company's latest DAP speaker dock, the TravelSound i50, is designed to work exclusively with Apple's smallest player, and the clean lines complement the Shuffle's minimalist style in a pleasingly different way. Not much else to see here -- you plug in the Shuffle and it plays your tunes -- but you've got to wonder why Creative isn't lavishing the Zen line with such stylish accessories.

[Via epiZENter]

iPods have long been the token of desire for customizers, and while we've certainly seen tamer flavors before, Xexoo's gilded 2G Shuffle is nothing short of overkill. The company -- which makes its ends by coating DAPs in precious metals and charging incomprehensibly high prices for them -- is now getting set to smother Apple's most diminutive player in 18-karat gold. Thankfully, the blinged-out Shuffle isn't the only thing you get for €14,000 ($19,320), as those imbecilic wealthy enough to shell out for this superfluous luxury will also receive a black wooden box and a certificate of authentication to sweeten the deal. Oh, and don't forget to add in the gold-finished dock while you're at it, cool?

[Via CNET]

We've gotta say, we're having real trouble figuring out exactly which MP3 player the bright green "Mini Aluminum Pocket Clipper" is trying to copy: the lack of a symbol for the play button, coupled with a badly Photoshopped-out logo on the back has us really muddled! The second example -- the iQ Sound 2GB Clip-on Aluminum MP3 Player with FM -- at least tries to improve upon its "source of inspiration," whatever that device may be.

[Thanks, Marcus V]

It was barely a month ago that Creative pelted the market with its Zen Stone, and now they're rolling out a re-upped and revamped version known as the Zen Stone Plus. While pretty much keeping the form factor the same, Creative has added a blue OLED screen, FM tuner, karaoke mode, and a stopwatch. The capacity has been increased to 2GB, doubling the original Stone's, but the color choices remain the same. Price and release date haven't been mentioned, but you'll know as soon as we do.

Update: For what it's worth, Impress tells us that the 2GB Stone Plus will hit Japan Saturday for ¥9,800 which translates to a tax-inclusive price of about $79.

[Via epiZENter]