Apple updates iPod, iPod nano, iPod shuffle

Updates announced at Showtime event

12 September 2006 18:24 GMT / By Stuart Miles

Apple has updated its iconic range of MP3 player today with a boost in battery life, a brighter screen and an the ability to play games for the iPod and the adoption of an aluminium case for the iPod nano and iPod shuffle.

"Let's start today with the ipod. It plays music, tv shows, videos. We're going to enhance it a lot", said Steve Jobs in his launch presentation.

The company has announced that the new iPod will feature a screen that is 60% brighter, as well as increase battery life from 4 hours to 6.5 for video playback. It will also come in two new sizes; 30GB and 80GB.

Apple has also announced that it will be improving the headphones that come in the box as standard and offer Gapless Playback for songs encoded with MP3, AAC, and Apple Lossless.

Further enhancements will be an improved search feature that, like the Sony Walkman range, lets you search alphabetically.

Apple has also seen that people clearly like playing solitare on their music player and so from today the company will offer games for download via the iTunes Store all designed to work with the iPod's click wheel.

Games so far include Zuma, Texas Holden, Mini Golf, Cubis 2, PacMan, Tetris!, More Tetris! Mah-jong, but expect more to come in the following weeks, months and years.

The iPod nano will be thinner, have an alumninum case as the original iPod Mini, and come as previously rumoured, in five different colours. Like the new iPods it will also feature a screen 40% brighter than before. It too gets a battery boost to 24 hours.

Finally the company's iPod shuffle gets the alumnium treatment and a clip to allow its users to clip the player on to something. The new player is now the smallest MP3 player in the world according to Apple.