The first crop of Apple's elusive iPod Shuffle is being plucked off shelves as quickly as they appear in stores across the Valley this week.

"This determination provides concrete verification of weeks of rumors in the trade press that the two companies had reached an agreement which would make a SigmaTel device a key part of the new flash-based Apple music player," according to Dave Carey, president of Portelligent.

Apple has an uncanny ability to keep on making great products. Every time you think it''s impossible to make improvements to their iPod music players, along comes another revamp that raises the bar yet again.And with the design and desirability of the latest batch, it has excelled itself once again, especially with the new nano. Unless you''ve been hiding under a rock for the past week or so, you''ll know roughly what it looks like. In order to accommodate the bigger screen, it''s both shorter and wider than the previous nano - 52 x 70 x 6.5mm (WxHxD) to be precise.

Tomorrow at Macworld 2008, ProClip USA, Inc. will announce the launch of new device holders designed to securely mount Apple iPhones and iPods to car, truck and SUV dashboards and consoles. These new holders will be displayed at the ProClip booth (#S543) throughout this year's Macworld exhibition.

Atlantic Inc., a leading manufacturer and distributor of media storage products, today announced its latest addition to its EGO iPod accessory line--the iceBar2 Speaker System for iPod nano--a waterproof and shatterproof case that protects the iPod from water, dust and scratches, while allowing the user to share music, photos and videos stored on their iPod. A successor to the CES 2008 Innovations award-winning iceBar, the iceBar2 accommodates all three iPod nano generations.

With so many handheld devices on the market these days, the Apple iPod Nano is clearly an excellent choice. But what makes this particular unit such an obvious way to go? Here are some of the advantages that this iPod brings to the table.

How cool would it be to have five days'' worth of your favorite music, if you''re someone who plays your favorite music 24/7, or 25,000 of you favorite snapshots suspended from a chain around your neck on a black, or pink, or green, or silver, or blue device about the size of a playing card? Good looks, great listening, and a mammoth memory are the big selling points of the latest version of the rechargeable Apple iPod nano, which retails from between $149 and $249, depending on its memory capacity.

"Just as the music on an iPod is a reflection of a music lover's tastes, the incredibly diverse new line of Macally iPod nano carrying cases lets customers express the many aspects of their personality, lifestyle and interests," said Andrew Saldana, Macally's vice president of sales and marketing. "The new Macally iPod nano cases are both stylish and affordable, customers will want to have several on hand so they'll always have the right one to suit their activity - whether it's looking incredibly fashionable out on the town, taking in a casual day of shopping, or getting in a good workout. Plus, these new cases are the ideal holiday gift for anyone who has or is getting a new iPod nano."

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c69170) has announced the addition of Is Apple's iPod Dominance Sustainable? The Consumer Responds to their offering.

Chris McGugan, VP of Product Management: "Extending our line of iPod accessories, these unique cases embody the heart of Belkin design: true innovation. Keeping the user in mind, we strive to create compelling, functional, and unique accessories that exceed the expectations of the iPod user community. Through our material selection, fit, and styling, we enable all iPod owners, the option to express themselves with our case lines."