Apple reboots iPod touch and classic

The iPod Touch gets all fancy
The iPod Touch gets all fancy

Apple wants more people to buy iPods this Christmas (shock!), and plans to force them into your grubby mitts by dropping the price and upping the capacity of the iPod classic and touch.

Hands on: See pics and get our initial reaction to Apple's new players.

The latter has been slimmed down to out-thin its iPhone 3G cousin, with the stainless steel back being retained and the profile altered, while packing in a speaker (for 'casual listening' says Jobs...ie it's rubbish).

It also comes with a side control for altering the volume, which apparently was the number one request for users looking to make the device better.

The Genius playlist function is included here too, with the button placed square in the centre of the album art when the screen is tapped. You get the feeling Apple wants you to use this feature, for some reason.

It's like it wants to sell more music or something.

Oh, and for all you fitness freaks out there, the Nike+ iPod sensor is built into the new version, as well as a new app being released to track your runs and play power tracks or whatever it does. We prefer eating rhythmically while watching Eddie Murphy films for exercise.

Updated Classic

The old stalwart, the iPod classic, refuses to die, in spite of the predictions of some of the TechRadar team.

It's been reinvigorated with a 120GB hard drive squished into the 80GB slim frame for the same price of £179, so more music for your money. It's a great thing.

However, some of you may note the fat older brother, the 160GB version has gone. But come on, who is ever going to fill that much space? The only way you could do that is with movies. And the screen is too small.

So, loath as we are to say it: it's a decision by Apple that makes sense.

Apparently both models are shipping today, so run out and get one if you want. Then run back with the Nike+ App, singing along to Bon Jovi's Living on a Prayer.

Gareth Beavis
Formerly Global Editor in Chief

Gareth has been part of the consumer technology world in a career spanning three decades. He started life as a staff writer on the fledgling TechRadar, and has grown with the site (primarily as phones, tablets and wearables editor) until becoming Global Editor in Chief in 2018. Gareth has written over 4,000 articles for TechRadar, has contributed expert insight to a number of other publications, chaired panels on zeitgeist technologies, presented at the Gadget Show Live as well as representing the brand on TV and radio for multiple channels including Sky, BBC, ITV and Al-Jazeera. Passionate about fitness, he can bore anyone rigid about stress management, sleep tracking, heart rate variance as well as bemoaning something about the latest iPhone, Galaxy or OLED TV.