If you are scouring the shops and the internet desperately trying to get your hands on the gadget of the moment - the iPod - then you are not alone.

Hundreds of desperate shoppers missed out when the new portable digital music players vanished from the high street before Christmas.

And it doesn't look like its popularity is on the wane - not only are they still flying off the shelves, Apple also has a new mini version on sale in the US, which is set to hit the shops here in April.

The lucky few who grasped the must-have MP3 player can now store up to 10,000 songs onto the portable players, allowing them to listen to their entire music collection, wherever they are in the world.

Along with your collection, the iPod holds thousands of digital photos, doubles up as a personal voice recorder - and could probably hold an entire music shop.

"They're like hot cakes. We get them in stores and they sell out immediately. We're working really hard to get more stock," says Kellie Evans, spokeswoman for Dixons.

"They're regularly selling out in stores and this is the case throughout the entire high street. Models can come in and go out the very same day. We're taking down people's names because the demand is so high."

With over two million sold worldwide, the innovative MP3 player has left portable CD players wrapped in cobwebs and relegated the Walkman to the dust of ancient history.

Although it has its rivals - the Phillips HD100, the iRiver HP-100, Creative's Zen Xtra and the Dell Jukebox - the iPod has established a unique cult status and a new generation of iPod geeks.

"Apple is a hot brand," said Evans. "And someone who may not want or can't afford an Apple laptop or PC but would like to get their hands on the brand can with an iPod. Effectively, it's a slice of Apple.

"They look great, plus they're practical. There are no moving parts inside. If you want to go to the gym or go jogging, it's not going to skip or jump."

With all cults there are followers and inevitably a devotees' website - www.iPodlounge.com - where dedicated ''Poddies'' from around the world have uploaded 1,915 pictures of their iPods in holiday snap style poses.

An iPod is shown on the slopes in Oregon, USA; another, plus owner in George Square, Glasgow; one is photographed in Kuwait; and a dog listens to an iPod in New Jersey. The list is endless but the theme is the same. The wonders of the world pale into insignificance in comparison with their precious iPods.

Pod apostles claim it has revolutionised the way we listen to music on the move. Gone are the days when getting the latest hits involved recording the top 40 on a Sunday afternoon. Now Poddies can record their favourite CDs onto the player and download thousands of newly released songs from the iTunes online music store.

Kenny Hemphill, deputy editor of MacUser magazine says he expects the iPod to take over the mass market in the next 18 months.

"It's going to get simpler to use," he says. "The price may be too high for the average consumer at the moment but I think the price will come down to around £100 and £150, and hit the mass market.

"The biggest benefit is that you can have all of your music with you in one little box and you can listen to anything at all."

It comes in three different sizes, 40GB (around 10,000 tracks), 20GB and 15GB, while the iPod Mini holds 1,000 songs in a 3.6oz case, the size of a business card.

It will be lighter than a mobile phone and available in five different colours - and the latest model, now on sale in the US, is heading to the UK and the rest of the world in April.

And Hewlett Packard has announced that it has included the iTunes software on its computers, allowing more people to download songs - all of which is set to make the iPod even more popular.

"The iPod is going to be in more and more people's hands," said Mr Hemphill.

In such a short time technology has developed beyond anyone's expectations - from simple Walkmans only a couple of decades ago, to the high-tech offerings of today.

Apple estimates that if you used all the space on the MP3 player, it would equal four weeks of music played continuously, 24 hours a day or one new song a day for the next 27 years.

Dennis Lloyd, the publisher and editor-in-chief of the iPodlounge website says many people will actually prefer the mini version.

"Many people do not need space for 10, 000 songs, that's why the iPod mini makes sense for people with smaller collections of digital music," he says.

"Current hard drive technology is giving us our lives in portable format. We'll be able to carry every piece of information, including all our songs with us wherever we go.

"It's very convenient to be able to carry your entire music collection on an iPod as you'll never get bored listening to the same thing twice."

Alan Hely, a spokesman for Apple says: "While we can still only listen to one track at a time as we have but one pair of ears, iPod provides us with the flexibility of what we listen to. Now with playlists we can listen to any selection of music in our collection without the need to change CD or stop and start."

But if small is beautiful, bigger is still better for some. Evans says the extra space to store more songs simply adds to the "cool factor".

"It's hip to be a geek," she says. "There will always be a type of shopper, often male, who wants a gadget with every whistle and bell available. The larger memory iPod will be their choice, even if they don't own 10,000 tracks right now.

"Everything takes time. Sometimes new technology takes time to reach the mass market but if it is a winning formula it will grow and grow."