The interest surrounding any update or new release from Apple is intense and frequently news is leaked well in advance of any official statement. The fact that rumours about the new iPod range have already been circulating for the past few months took the excitement out of the official announcement this week. The biggest changes on show are to the iPod Nano which has already sold over 100 million units worldwide.

It is now set to shift even more because Apple has added a video camera. It allows some editing effects and videos can be uploaded to YouTube via your computer at the touch of a button. The new design also sports a larger screen, now 2.2 inches and a polished anodized aluminium exterior. There is support for FM radio and it can even be paused. Users can also tag songs they like to make purchasing them from iTunes even easier. They have also added voiceovers to tell you what track is playing. It seems the iPod Nano can also now be used as a fitness aid. Via a tie-in with Nike it works as a pedometer and can keep track of steps taken and calories burned.

The device remains very competitively priced at $149 for the 8 GB version and $179 for the 16 GB version. It works for five hours on a single charge. The video recording feature is clearly the biggest new attraction and you’ll be able to get 7 hours on your 8 GB. Interestingly it can’t take still pictures because the sensors required would have thickened the device and Apple want to keep it slim as ever at 0.2 inches thick.

The biggest surprise for Apple fans was probably the lack of a camera in the new iPod Touch amidst claims they see the device as a gaming machine and wanted to keep the price down. The 8 GB model costs $199. They rounded off the news with a new 160 GB iPod Classic model with the same $249 price tag as the old 120 GB model and the iPod Shuffle got new headphones and a price drop to $59 for a new 2 GB model.