With the new iPod shuffle, comes iTunes 8.1. And with iTunes 8.1, you now get iTunes DJ. What’s iTunes DJ? You may remember it as Party Shuffle. It wasn’t a ground-breaking feature of iTunes then, and while it doesn’t take center stage now, it’s slowly getting there.

Apple has released iTunes 8.1, which they are claiming is “Faster, smarter, better.” The updated was expected after the announcement of the new iPod shuffle yesterday. Along with speed improvements, iTunes now defaults to the higher quality 256-Kbps AAC file format when importing CDs. Kind of ironic, really, that they increase the default file size on the heels of a shuffle release, where you need to import lower quality songs to squeeze as much music as possible into 4GBs.

Following the release of the new iPod shuffle, it appears iTunes 8.1 is on its way. It’s not going to be a big release, but as with the new desktop line, there will be a few small changes to enhance the application further. iTunes 8.1 will respond quicker when syncing your iPod/iPhone, loading large libraries and when you’re browsing the iTunes Store.