Apple iPod nano gets new look, new colours, new software

"A little video for everyone"

5 September 2007 18:18 GMT / By Stuart Miles

"Today we get to talk about music", said Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple, after walking on stage at the "Beat goes on" press event in the usual black turtle neck sweater, blue jeans and white trainers.

Apple has said that it has sold 110 million iPods so far, but that didn't stop the company launching refreshes of every model at the special event on Wednesday.

The company announce new colour-ways for the shuffle - silver, turquoise blue, green and purple, as well as the launch of a PRODUCT (RED) version, that will see money donated to the Bono-backed African charity for every purchase made.

Shipping today, the new shuffle model will still keep the 1GB flash memory (for around 240 songs), offer 12 hour's battery life and will be sold at the same price point.

The rumours for the iPod nano turned out to be true and the player, still called the nano, gets video capabilities, Apple's album art software Cover Flow (premiered on the iPhone), a larger, brighter display and a full metal design.

The new iPod nano comes bundled with three games — Vortex, iQuiz, and Klondike — with the option to download more from the iTunes Store for $4.99 each.

The new nano sports a fatter design than the previous model, although not exactly flabby at 6.5mm thick, and mirrors the iPod 5th Generation model with a wide screen at the top and the iconic click wheel below.

It will come with a 2-inch screen, 0.4 inches smaller than the recently announced Creative Zen media player. Resolution will be the same as the 5th Gen iPod at 320 x 240 pixels.

The leaked colours - a dark red, light (yet bright) blue and green, pale silver and black - indeed turned out to be the new shades available for the updated device so kudos to 9to5Mac for the info.

Apple are promising 5 hours of video playback and 24 hours of music playback from a single charge. Available in 4GB in silver, priced at $149, or the 8GB version will come in all colours and $199.

According to Jobs, the new nanos are also shipping today and will be in stores by the weekend. Apple has said that it will also ship a series of accessories for the new device.

Additional reporting by Amy-Mae Elliott.