Product Reviews

In marked contrast to the nano, you have to look closely at the new iPod touch to spot the differences from its predecessor. The only visible physical changes are the welcome addition of a hardware volume control and the removal of the black border around the screen in favour of the iPhone's silver bezel.

The other major hardware change is the addition of a built-in speaker, which Apple says is for 'casual listening'. Great if you like to enjoy your music on the back of the bus, not so great for everyone else on the bus. It's not really for music at all, of course, but to help the touch work as a games machine, a market Apple is keen to crack.

There's also a

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built-in sensor for the Nike+ system. Buy a £14 shoe sensor and you can access Nike's training and monitoring system, which uses the iPod to keep track of running distance, pace and calories burned, and can sync with a PC.

Everything else new comes in version 2.1 of the software, available to existing owners as a £5.99 upgrade. This gives access to a rapidly increasing library of games and applications from Apple's App Store, and it's clear Apple now sees the touch competing with Sony's PSP and Nintendo's DS.

Like its predecessor, the touch is fantastic to use. Watching videos on its 3.5 inch screen is surprisingly enjoyable, and features like CoverFlow and Genius work brilliantly. The Safari web browser and Mail applications are far better than handheld rivals, taking advantage of built-in WiFi.

Battery life is a concern: Apple quotes 36 hours for audio and six hours for video, but our tests showed that if you use WiFi or play games that use the accelerometer, that figure reduces significantly. You may have to charge it up every day.

We're not convinced the iPod touch will ever be a serious competitor to the DS or PSP for gaming, but as an all-round music and video player, portable web browser and toy, it's very hard to beat.