Apple Computer who sold 14 million of digital music players last quarter announced this week that it would make its popular iPod players even more affordable by introducing new 1GB iPod nano player as well as lowering pricing of the iPod shuffle products.

“Now everyone can afford an iPod nano, with our new 1GB model starting at just $149,” said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s vice president of worldwide iPod product marketing.

The lineup of iPod nano players now includes 1GB, 2GB and 4GB models priced at $149, $199 and $249 respectively. Meanwhile, the iPod shuffle family has become more affordable: the 512MB model costs $69, while 1GB flavour is priced at $99. The new iPod nano 1GB is available now, the new pricing is also effective now, according to Apple.

The move of Apple Computer is inline with its strategy to popularize its products among broader audiences by offering additional capabilities, or lower pricing and increase reach of the products by customers in different markets.

The iPod nano is Apple’s second music player after the iPod shuffle that uses flash memory instead of hard disk drives. The iPod nano players weigh only 1.5 ounce (about 45 grams) and measure by only 3.5” x 1.6” x 0.27” (height x width x thickness). The players can operate for up to 14 hours, have USB 2.0 connectivity and can playback different types of music files, including MP3 (8 to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR, AAC (8 to 320 Kbps), Protected AAC (from iTunes Music Store, M4A, M4B, M4P), Audible (formats 2, 3, and 4) and WAV. The iPod nano features a color screen.

The iPod shuffle player’s weight is 0.78 ounce (22 grams) and measures are 3.3” x 0.98” x 0.33” (approximately 8.4cm x 2.5cm x 0.84cm). The iPod shuffle does not have any screen.