Click here for a slideshow of the new iPod touch and nano

Click here to see the development of the iPod since launch

Last week Apple finally revamped the entire iPod range and all the rumours have proven true. Well, except for the one about the inclusion of a digital radio, but nobody believed that anyway.

Most of the reports were written in haste before journalists had a chance to assess the devices, but I was among the first to get my hands on them (except for the new Shuffle, which has only been given a paint job) to see whether they live up to the hype.

The iPod story

Facts, figures and pictures from the first six years of the $17 billion device that changed the music industry

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Multimedia

• iPod gallery

• The new iPods

First, the Nano, which now costs £99 for the 4GB version or £129 for 8GB. I must admit that when I first saw it my heart sank. It looked like the old Nano, but stretched wider to accommodate a bigger screen. Surely Jonathan Ive, Apple’s design guru, wouldn’t sanction such a thing?

Yes, the new Nano’s clickwheel feels weedy, and yes the player is a bit wider than its predecessor, but it’s not as tall and feels credit-card thin, helped by the curved shape of the sides that finish in a point. The menus are a leap forward, too, and while I wouldn’t fancy watching a full-length film on it, the hires screen looks splendid. I predict it will sell by the lorryload.

The old-school iPod is now known as the Classic and costs £159 for the 80GB version or £229 for a new, humungous 160GB edition. It has been slimmed down and tarted up with a metallic case, so breaking tradition with Apple’s trademark glossy white finish. The menus have been refined but it still didn’t set my pulse racing. That said, the 160GB hard drive is ideal for those who insist on toting their entire music collection.

The undoubted star of the show – with a London press conference featuring Steve Jobs, Apple’s chief executive, on a giant telescreen – was the long-mooted iPod Touch. Its unique selling point is its 3.5in screen, big enough to make a feature film watchable. It’s been billed as widescreen, which is stretching the truth a little – it’s more like the very early seat-back screens on aircraft.

I admit now I feel stupid for having bought a 4GB iPhone from the US just to use its nonphone features (the phone is locked to the AT&T network and won’t easily work here) when a 16GB iPod Touch will, at £269, be similarly priced. The only consolation is that all the other early iPhone buyers will be feeling just as daft, especially as Apple has just slashed the price.

The Touch is due to go on sale in the UK this month and will cost from £199 for the 8GB version. It looks exactly like an iPhone, albeit a tad thinner, and shares the groundbreaking multi-touch touchscreen menus. Built-in wi-fi is a boon, even though this could reduce the battery life from 22 hours to as little as five. It could also dent your pocket. Going online with Safari, Apple’s web browser, on the iPod Touch is hands-down the best mobile-browsing experience I’ve had, and could prove expensively addictive.

The ability to download music direct to the gadget over wi-fi is a great addition if you buy music from Apple – and now that it sells some DRM-free music, I do. This cuts the mobile phone networks out of the loop, and gives Nokia, which has just launched its own music service, plenty to think about.

I can’t say much about the sound quality of any of these new iPods until I’ve had a chance to test them properly. Another consideration is that in the past some iPod redesigns have adversely affected the power output, but I hope this will not be the case.

The Touch is a superb gadget and the only big downside is the smallish capacity. Still, 16GB holds a decent amount of music and movies so I’ll just have to weed out the rubbish from my collection. After all, only top-class music is worthy of such a gorgeous player.

The new iPods

NANO
4GB £99
8GB £129
Verdict Now plays video

CLASSIC
80GB £159
160GB £229
Verdict Still a solid workhorse

TOUCH
8GB £199
16GB £269
Verdict Brilliant but not much memory

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