It’s an annual September event that sparks off many last-minute additions to pujo and Diwali wish lists — the launch of the new iPods, that is. The 2010 line-up of iPods — the touch, nano and the shuffle — are finally here, and I take a close look at what’s new, what’s changed and more importantly, how well they carry forward the legacy of their rock star predecessors.

iPod nano

Nano

Now, while the iPod touch gets a large share of attention these days, and justifiably so due to the inherent extensibility thanks to the applications, it’s really the iPod nano which has turned most heads this time around. Much like the generations that preceded this, the 2010 nano has seen a ground-up redesign, with the iconic Click Wheel being dropped, and you only get volume control and sleep/wake buttons — the nano comes with no playback buttons.

But wait, this isn’t like the previous generation shuffle and its mildly fidgety remote-on-the-earphones gimmick. The new nano sports a gorgeous square (1.54-in diagonal) LCD display with a resolution of 240 by 240 pixels. Yes, this is a smaller display than the previous gen nano, but it more than makes up for its diminished size with multi-touch functionality.

As with the bigger iPod touch, you control most of the nano’s features by touching the screen, and much like its bigger brother, the touch response is amazingly responsive and fluid. The use of similar icons means that the touch interface is very familiar, though mostly everyone I know went through a few moments of confusion when they wanted to go back to the home screen.

Since the nano does heavily borrow many of the touch-screen metaphors of the iPhone/touch, one can’t help but look for a home button which takes you out of each application. The solution is rather simple — you need to swipe left or hold your finger on the screen a tad longer to return to the main menu. Once you get it, it becomes second nature, but I’m surprised navigation wasn’t as intuitive as I’d expected it to be. This is an iPod, after all.

The touch interface does the nano a world of good, making scrolling through long lists and flicking through pictures a whole lot easier. I personally love the ability to rotate the nano’s entire interface, 90 degrees at a time, by using two fingers and twisting clockwise. Great for when the nano’s clipped onto a band or a sleeve and you want to view it ‘right side up’. Speaking of which, I expect to see a number of these slapped onto wrist bands a la watches, and Apple’s thoughtfully added a full-screen watch function which lets you use the nano as a…watch!

Now while the nano has retained many of the features from last time around, including the pause-live-radio and built-in pedometer, the overhaul killed a number of neat tricks the previous gen had mastered. There’s no video capturing or playback capabilities with this one, and the alarm clock and support for basic games are missing as well. My bigger concern is how at least part of the intended audience — gym-goers and walkers — will take to the new non-Click-Wheel navigation features.

iPod shuffle

Shuffle

Really, for these folks, I’d point them to the new shuffle, which has thankfully restored the five-button control scheme on the front face and is a breeze to use for those easily confused by touchscreens. It is far more practical to use than the previous gen, assuming the new set of colours and single 2GB capacity currently being offered meet your needs. That said, as a basic music player, and one without a screen, it only checks off the style points in the checklist, and there are a lot of capable big-brand offerings that are breathing uncomfortably down its aluminium neck.

iPod touch

Touch

With the 2010 iPod touch, Apple’s pretty much done what it has been doing all along — make an uber popular iPhone, and then strip out the phone and the GPS features to make a new iPod. But how they make it this thin — two iPod touches back-to-back come close to the thickness of the already thin iPhone 4 — is beyond me.

More good stuff — a retina high-definition display like the iPhone 4’s, Apple’s A4 processor and the gyroscope (for gaming) all make the feature list. The dual cameras found in the iPhone 4 also make their way into the touch, and while they both shoot at 720p HD resolution video, the iPod touch’s video is a little more grainy and washed out than the iPhone 4’s, but only just.

The still camera on the touch is a mere 1-megapixel, so I’m not even looking to compare it with the iPhone 4 or other camera phones out there — it just doesn’t measure up unless you’re in the most ideal conditions. Video is all very nice, but what the cameras do allow one to do is use the iPod touch as a FaceTime device, allowing you to video-chat with anyone on an iPhone4 or a Mac, assuming both of you are over a Wi-Fi network.

As with the previous gen iPod touch, there are things it does tremendously well — gaming and portable media, for instance, and makes for an extremely compelling buy, even if you have a previous generation. It is the device which is without a peer in its segment. With the addition of HD video shooting, the new Retina Display and a faster A4 processor, the touch has just gone from “nice to have” to darn nigh irresistible!

Apple iPod Nano 2010

• Rating: 8/10 • Price: Rs 10,700 (8GB) and Rs 12,700 (16GB) in silver, graphite, blue, green, orange and pink •URL: http://bit.ly/bJ1MXE

Apple iPod Touch 2010

• Rating: 9/10 • Price: Rs 15,400 (8GB), Rs 19,900 (32GB), Rs 25,900 (64GB) • URL: http://bit.ly/cGawS1

Apple iPod Shuffle 2010

• Rating: 7/10 lPrice: Rs 3,200 (2GB) in silver, blue, green, orange and pink • URL: http://bit.ly/aoA2hK