Apple has given a hint that it is on the cusp of launching a new version of the iPod, its best-selling digital music player.

The maker of the iPhone and Mac computers sent out invitations to an event next Tuesday titled 'Let's Rock', showing an image of a man jumping while listening to an iPod.

Apple has a habit of making significant product announcements a couple of months before Christmas to cater to the holiday shopping season and analysts have suggested its iPod line is in need of an overhaul.

Separately, it has been reported that Apple is working on a new addition to its online music store, iTunes, which would allow customers to download lyrics, lines notes and other additional material not currently available on the site.

Apple itself has suggested that the future of the iPod lies in the ability to connect to the internet rather than being a standalone device, but so far - with the exception of the iPhone, which is also a music player - the iPod Touch is the only one in the line that has this capability.

The iPod Touch retails for £199 in the UK whereas the cheapest iPods - the Shuffle and the Nano - cost £32 and £99 respectively.

Apple has suggested in the past that the Touch may be due for a price reduction. Many of the device's features - including the ability to download software that has been written by third party developers - are now replicated in the iPhone, which retails for only £50 more.

Growth in iPod sales has slowed significantly of late. In the fiscal third quarter, sales of iPod units rose by 12 per cent to 11 million in comparison with the same period a year ago. Growth the previous year was 21 per cent.

By comparison, Apple sold 41 per cent more Macs in the most recent fiscal quarter than it did the previous year.

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