A New iPod Shuffle Arrives — Minus Steve

With the release today of Apple's "smallest iPod Shuffle ever," the pioneering tech bellwether continues to wean us off its charismatic founder, Steve Jobs. Until recently, the new Shuffle would have been unveiled as an appetizer during a bigger media banquet — one of those wonderful little trinkets that Jobs would show off at the start of, say, a Macworld conference.

But that was then and this is the post-Jobs Apple now.

With the chairman and CEO on sick leave until June, the company has been working hard to carry on with business as usual — a tough trick since business was usually carried on the back of Jobs. He was the front man, the face of Apple, its every innovation incarnate. Even a trifle like the new Shuffle, with its clever way of "speaking" the names of tracks and playlists to ease navigation, would have been his to unveil. Not this morning. (See pictures of Jobs on the job.)

The Apple Store went down briefly, then came back up with news of the new, new thing: "The first music player that talks to you." Uncharacteristically, Apple's p.r. folks, normally a reticent bunch, carried out a coordinated media blitz at dawn, offering up Apple execs to reporters for briefings. The scenario was similar to last month's refresh of the company's desktop Macs, which were also announced without the usual fanfare. (See the top 10 moments in Apple history.)

The new Shuffle costs $79 and replaces the one that cost $49. That's potentially a big driver to Apple's bottom line. Veteran Apple analyst Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray thinks the higher price tag carries higher margins for Apple, increasing its revenue and profit. That's yet another reason Jobs would have delivered the news and taken the victory lap. (See the top 10 iPhone applications.)

Greg Joswiak, who oversees iPod and iPhone marketing for Apple, says the non-Jobsian approach is nothing new. "We've always done a mixture" of product releases, some without a lot of fanfare or big-tent releases, he says. "For this one, it just made sense to do it this way. We've done a lot on our website to make sure customers understand how it works."

It is, of course, entirely possible that even when Jobs returns, this faceless way of doing business makes more sense than the Jobs/Apple way. Apple's stores generate their own buzz, after all, despite these days of economic Armageddon. Besides, Apple's products continue to be so cool, they get us to write about them. Even in the absence of Jobs.

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