If you have just bought an iPod, then you are in for a bit of bad news as Apple have announced updates to their ubiquitous iPod line of MP3 players, mainly regarding the iPod Nano and iPod Touch. As we warned before, it was highly expected that Apple would use the event today to announce new products, and it seems many of the rumours around the new iPod Nano turned out to be true.

I managed to keep up with the event via Gizmodo’s liveblog, which provided photos and text updates through the hour. So what did Apple show us today?

iTunes 8

iTunes has been hanging on to version 7 for a while now, and one of the biggest rumours leading up to today was a new version of iTunes being released, version 8. What’s new? Apart from a new visualizer (can I have it as a screen saver, Apple?), a new feature called Genius is meant to help you find music that “go great together”. For people with huge libraries, this could be a lot of help of getting some stuff organized for once. As for me, I am someone who doesn’t use playlists that much, or in fact at all, so I can’t really see this making much of a difference to me in any way. Also updated is a new view which presents your album covers like iPhoto or iMovie skimming, where you swipe the mouse over the Artist or Genre to see album covers inside. There is something about this view which for now makes it feel as though it doesn’t really fit in iTunes, but it may just need some getting used to.

iPod Nano

As Kevin Rose had predicted (or received in a leak) the iPod Nano has reverted from its old, fatter design back to the taller one we knew before, coming in a variety of colours, and with a new, curved design (much like what is going on with the back of the iPhone, or the tapering of the MacBook Air). Also, we have seen new features such as an accelerometer so that when you turn the Nano, it will also turn what is on screen, useful for Cover Flow mode and more importantly watching videos and movies, as the screen is now taller. Also included is an update to the iPod OS with Genius, the feature seen in iTunes which recommends music to you, rather like a Pandora or Last.fm of your iTunes Library. Another feature, although maybe viewed as more of a gimmick by many, is the ability to shake the device, which uses the accelerometer to turn shuffle mode on. In my eyes, that isn’t really a selling point, but I am sure in some way to some people that will be handy.

Another change comes in the capacity of the Nano: You can now get 8GB and 16GB versions of the device, coming in at £109 and £149 respectively. This is a welcome addition to the line of iPods.

iPod Touch

The smaller brother of the iPhone, the iPod Touch has also received some updates, although not as massive as seen on the Nano. The second generation of the device is now even smaller and lighter than it’s predecessor, and includes a speaker, hardware volume control buttons (much wanted by existing Touch owners) and intergration of Genius from iTunes into software 2.1. Also included into the new Touch is Nike + iPod support, a technology which helps you with your workouts, which helps you track your progress during exercise. Oh, and the prices have been dropped slightly on the Touch, now coming in 8, 16 and 32 GB sizes at £169, £219, and £289.

What else?

Well, Apple decided that the iPod classic needed some love and upgraded the 80GB model to 120GB, but in doing so also dropped the 160GB model. Not too sure what to make of that move. And to (presumably) avoid a mass server flood, the iPhone 2.1 software, which has been described as having a multitude of fixes for bugs in iPhone OS X, and helping battery life, poor call quality, crashes and other random annoyances that have plauged the iPhone 2.0 OS since it’s release.

This month, we have seen many people come up with ideas for suspected releases of new Apple equipment again. Some great (and some pointless) ideas have been spreading through the net as to what could potentially be launched.

I thought I would give you a low-down of the latest breaking rumours circulating the inter-web 2.0 nowadays.

1. iPod touch re-design [Article] - Yes the first rumour is that Apple are going to redesign the iPod touch to match the iPhone by placing a plastic rear cover to the touch. I hope this doesn’t come true as I myself have just purchased an iPod touch. The pros of this would be a reduction in price and less visible scratches but considering one of the reasons for the new iPhone rear was to improve the 3G reception there is no real advantage. Maybe this is the signs to an addition of GPS to the touch.
2. New MacBook [Article] - Now this is one of those rumours that is repeated at every launch date so the question is will the MacBook finally face a re-design?. Well from the suspicious leaked pictures it seems the rumoured MacBook might incorporate a touch screen element and flip into a tablet PC (Mac), for me this would be a wonderful addition. But if this does become reality then Axiotron, the company producing the Modbook, will pretty much be out of business and the MacBook will most probably increase in price. Bad times 
3. iPhone Nano [Article] - Well it seems very unlikely to me but the Daily Mail have reported possibilities of a Pay-as-you-go iPhone nano launched in time for Christmas. One question, what’s the point?.
4. 4GB iPod Shuffle [Article] - I think this is pointless. What would be the reason behind having that much memory for tracks that you would be limited in selecting (no screen). You either have the option of selecting shuffle or skipping through your vast quantity of 4GB. It’s going to take you long time. Well if your a Shuffle fan then I suppose this is maybe for you. Tell me your views.
5. Zune inspired Nano [Article] - A nano shaped Zune, well it could be a possibility. Actually I think it would be a good addition, certainly for watching videos on the nano. But is bigger, better, but will Apple actually steal a design from one of its rival company? Good, but seems very unlikely to me considering the potential slander by the media this could potentially cause.
6. Glass trackpad MacBook [Article] - Sounds cool, but is it practical? Think of the smudges! Anyway this article says the MacBook will incorporate a glass trackpad. It shall be supporting gestures (it better had) and the ideas of a new MacBook with tapered edges from the design of the new MacBook Air and iPhone 3G.

If you are loving your iPhone 3G, but not so much loving the colour’s, then Colorware have just announced that they will start painting iPhone 3G’s, like they did with the original iPhone. Unlike some, I love the plastic back to the iPhone 3G, as I think it has a much nicer feel in your hands. The plastic also seems like it will mix well with new colors, like the red above, which looks very nice.

You can get the back done for $150, which is roughly £75 (although you need to ship it to America, so yeah, grab the spraycans…) but you can ramp it up all the way to around $210 if you have things like the home screen button done as well. Unfortunately, since you can’t buy the iPhone without signing up to a contract, you can only send it to them, instead of buying it directly from them. Still, if you have some colour that you really like, and a load of money to blow then this is the perfect thing for you.

I’m happy with my black though, to be perfectly honest…