Apple has been somewhat predictable for the past few years when the holiday season nears - releasing all new iPod line-ups during September 'surprise' Apple events. This year's event introduced arguably the best and possibly the most affordable iPod line-up ever.

The talk of the gadget world this time was the introduction of a slimmer, sleeker iPod touch, multi-colored 'tall' iPod Nanos, iPod Shuffles in new colors, and perhaps the biggest announcement this year - the news that all iPods are now made even more affordable.

iPod Touch (2nd Generation)
When first introduced last year, the iPod Touch was the talk of the town, and it deserved it. Besides having a great 'Multi-Touch' screen which lets you view and listen to your music in a cool new way, probably the main selling point of the original iPod Touch to Bruneians was its ability to surf the Internet with its very cool-to-use Safari browser. It meant that we didn't have to carry a heavy laptop around to cafes anymore just to surf, and the fact that this little gadget costed under $500 was great at the time. What could Apple do to improve it? Quite a few things actually..

The 2nd generation iPod Touch is even thinner now - only 0.33-inches thin, which somehow makes other MP3 players look somewhat huge! Apple has also managed to incorporate speakers in this amazingly thin gadget, which solves the problem of always having to bring your headphones everywhere.

Another major improvement is the iPod 2.1 software that's installed which lets you download games and applications through Wi-Fi right on to the iPod Touch. There's hundreds of free apps and games to choose from, which somehow makes it a great competitor to the Sony PSP and Nintendo DS.

The 2nd Generation Apple iPod Touch is now available at AV Electronics for $388 (8GB), $498 (16GB), and $698 (32GB).

iPod Nano (4th Generation)
Probably the most noticeable feature of the new iPod Nanos is that they now have the same 'tall' design as the 1st and 2nd generation models, with Apple choosing to get rid of the recent 'shorter', and probably less selling design of the most recent generation of Nanos. They're also now available in an unbelievable 9 colors in total, so you probably won't have a problem getting one in your favourite colour.

The 4th Generation iPod Nano is the thinnest iPod Apple has ever made, being just 6.2mm deep (from front to back), and after checking out these little gadgets in person, they really are tiny!

Apple has also incorporated the same accelerometers which are used in the iPod Touch into these new Nanos, which automatically changes the screen orientation when the gadget is turned sideways, letting you view all your album art.

Another cool addition is the 'shake to shuffle' feature, which lets you listen to random songs whenever you vigorously shake the Nano.

Fitness fans will be glad to know that these Nanos also have a built-in Nike+iPod receiver, which when connected wirelessly with an in-shoe sensor lets you track your runs and automatically gives you feedback on your progress and calories burnt.



The 4th generation iPod Nano is available at AV Electronics for $248 (8GB) and $328 (16GB).

iPod Shuffle

The iPod Shuffle continues to be what Apple claims to be the world's most 'wearable' MP3 player with it's tiny size and 'clip' design, but the only new features announced this time around was that it now comes in new colours - a more vibrant blue, green, pink and red, on top of the grey model.

The iPod Shuffle is available at AV Electronics for $78 (1GB) and $108 (2GB).