Apple Shedding the Shuffle?

Apple Computer (AAPL) may be about to phase out -- or replace -- one of its low-end iPods, if the availability of the device on the company's Web site - and through its retail partners -- is any indication.

Customers can no longer buy the one-gigabyte iPod shuffle through Apple's Web store or through those of such leading online retailers as Amazon.com(AMZN), Wal-Mart(WMT), Best Buy(BBY), and Circuit City(CC).

Apple's Web store has been out of stock on the 1GB shuffle since mid-December, according to enthusiast site AppleInsider.com.

Amazon's site says simply that the "device is unavailable" from the e-commerce store. However, Amazon does list several third-party merchants that are selling the Hewlett-Packard(HPQ)-branded version of the 1GB shuffle through Amazon's site. H-P announced in July that it would stop selling its version of the iPod.

In addition, a survey of 12 Apple retail stores chosen at random found that seven of them -- including a store in Los Angeles and one in New York's SoHo district -- did not have the 1GB shuffle in stock and didn't know when they would receive it. Representatives of two other stores -- one in Tampa, Fla., and one in Cambridge, Mass. -- said their outlets only had limited quantities of the 1GB shuffle available.

The shuffle has been one of Apple's most popular iPod lines, helping the company extend its dominance of the digital music player market. Thanks to the shuffle, the company instantly went from having no presence in the flash-based music player market to being the leading player.

In contrast, Apple's iPod nano models, which were expected to be among the hottest products this holiday season, are widely available.

Apple representatives did not return calls seeking comment, and the company has not announced any plans to cancel or replace the device. However, the lack of supply could be telling.