We're considering starting a petition to officially designate September as Apple iPod month, since it seems the first month of autumn has been graced with new iPods for as long as we can remember.

This year is no exception either, with Apple launching a brand new range of whisper-thin iPod nanos in nine exciting colours as well as a refined iPod touch.

Unlike the touch, the new 4th gen nanos look completely different to their slightly stubby predecessors. Although if you think they look familiar, it's because they look exactly like the even older, tall and thin 2nd generation nanos, except that the 2-inch (on the diagonal) screen is noticeably bigger. And of course, at just 6.2mm it's much, much thinner.

New features

The classic nano click wheel is still exactly the same, and if you've used an iPod before then you'll be instantly at home because despite a few visual interface tweaks, such as photo, video and album art previews, the menu system is pretty much the same as before.

We won't dwell too much on the standard iPod features, such as playing music, audio books, podcasts, video and displaying photos, since everybody knows iPods do these things very well, so instead let's focus on the new stuff.

The big new features in this outing of the nano are the built-in accelerometer, which finds expression mainly in the new games and a new Shake to Shuffle feature, and Genius playlists, which are also a feature of the required iTunes 8 software.

The accelerometer first debuted in the iPhone and iPod touch, and this is the first time it's been available in the iPod nano.

It essentially means that the iPod can work out which way up it is. Turn the iPod on its side while you're playing music and the display automatically changes to Cover View mode, so you can flick through your album covers using the click wheel. Videos also play in landscape mode by default, which suits them well.

The accelerometer can also be used in iPod games, and you can try it out in the included Maze, in which you have to guild a ball through a maze by tilting the iPod. It's neat, and Apple has added a number of new games to the iTunes Store, including Spore Origins, but the games on the nano with its smaller screen aren't a patch on what's possible on its older brother, the iPod touch.

Shake to shuffle

A more practical benefit of the accelerometer is the new 'Shake to shuffle' feature. While you're playing a song you simply give the iPod nano a meaningful shake and it shuffles to a different song in your music library.

And yes, before the joggers amongst you start getting irate, you can turn this feature off if you like, or you can simply switch the Hold switch on and the Shake feature is disabled. It's a neat little trick if you're sat at your desk listening to your iPod, but we found it less useful while walking with the iPod in your pocket, and also draws attention to you in public places where you might not want to advertise the fact that you've got an iPod.

A discreet button on the earphone cord, which features on the iPhone, is a more practical solution.