Apple has sold over 2 million iPods

The credit card size player can store about 1,000 songs in its internal 4GB memory, and comes in five colours.

The little sister of the successful iPod goes on sale in the US on Friday, and the rest of the world in April.

More than 2 million iPods have been sold, but it faces stiff competition in 2004 from others like Dell, Digital Networks, Creative Labs and Archos.

"IPod mini broadens the market for iPod by competing head-on with flash-based players," Phil Schiller, Apple's head of worldwide product marketing said.

Mini bet

Although it costs about $50 (�26) more than a 256MB flash-based music player, Apple said it can store 16 times the amount of music.

Flash-based players are different because they use flash memory, like a memory stick or card, which is the type used for storage in digital cameras and video game consoles.

IPOD MINI Storage: 4GB Battery life: 8 hours Display: 1.67-inch greyscale LCD with LED backlight Ports Dock connector, remote connector, stereo minijack Connectivity: FireWire 400 and USB 2.0 through dock connector Audio support: AAC, MP3, MP3 VBR, Audible, AIFF (Mac only) and WAV Size: 3.6 by 2.0 by 0.5 inches Weight: 3.6 ounces

Ipod mini hits US shop shelves with a price tag $249 (�130), but prices look set to be higher than exchange rates suggest when it goes on sale in the UK.

Apple chief Steve Jobs announced the tiny iPod's birth at the Macworld conference in San Francisco earlier in January.

It is betting on the iPod mini to help maintain its position at the top of the MP3 player maker.

Currently, it has a 31% share of the portable digital jukebox market, but rival players are due for release this year which may challenge that dominance.

But Apple's dominance has also been strengthened by its successful iTunes Music Store, which is currently only available in the US.