New Apple iPod nano (2010) review

Somebody at Apple obviously hates the phrase "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" because it has completely redesigned its best-selling iPod, the iPod nano, yet again.

This year's model is half the height of the previous generation and has the same clip-on design as the new iPod shuffle. The big change is that there's no click wheel, just a screen.

In fact, the only physical buttons found on the device are for sleep/wake and adjusting volume. Everything else is controlled by a brand new multi-touch display.

But don't mistake the nano for a scaled down iPod touch; the nano appears to run some version of iOS, Apple's iPhone, iPod touch and iPad operating system, but its a unique severely restricted version compared to the full fat iOS 4 found on the touch. You can't buy and install third party apps, for example, and there are far fewer applications, and no Wi-Fi.

In Apple's iPod line up, the new nano still sits squarely in-between the simplistic iPod shuffle and the all-singing, all-dancing iPod touch,with the traditional iPod classic now marginalised as a device reserved for people who need a lot of storage.

Historically the nano has always represented a good balance between price and features, but this time around we were surprised to find that the UK price has actually risen by quite a bit, with the 16GB version at £159 (up from £138) and the 8GB version at £129 (up from £118).

What's even more surprising is that the ability to play or create videos (one of last year's nano's most touted features) has been removed altogether, making the new nano an audio-only device.

But before we tackle that thorny issue, let's take a look at the intriguing new multi-touch display.