'Mystery Chip' in New iPod Shuffle Explained

However, the design of the chip is indeed defined by Apple as part of its "Made for iPod" program, meaning that it's unclear whether Apple will try and defend it as its own intellectual property.

Both BoingBoing Gadgets and iLounge discovered and tried to determine what the purpose was of the "8A83E3" chip, found within the control pod of the new Shuffle earbuds. Both BoingBoing and the Electronic Frontier Foundation used the term "DRM," short for Digital Rights Management, in describing the chip's purpose.

Several vendors have already announced plans to manufacture Shuffle-compatible earbuds, although they were caught off guard by the unexpected launch last week. "As part of the 'Made for iPod' program, we make sure that third-party headphones work properly with the third generation iPod shuffle," an Apple spokesman said Monday. He declined to go into specifics.