New 16GB iPod touch costs £199, ditches rear camera

Apple has snuck a new 16GB version of the iPod touch onto shop shelves, with the spangly new edition costing less than its rival models.

The 16GB version costs £199, making it £50 cheaper than the 32GB model that launched alongside the iPhone 5 last year.

Cutting the cost also cuts back on features, however. The 16GB model doesn't have a rear-facing camera, so you won't be able to record 1080p video.

It also has less storage space of course, so there's less room for your movies, music and so on, and you don't get the fabric 'Loop' that keeps the iPod touch tethered to your wrist.

Finally, Apple only sells the 16GB iPod touch in boring grey, and not the riot of colours that the 32 and 64GB versions come in. That's probably an arbitrary decision designed to persuade fans of colour to splash out on the pricier models.

You do still get the A5 processor and all-important 4-inch retina display, though. If you fancy, you can snap up the new model from Apple's website now.

Rumours persist that Apple could be cooking up a cheaper version of the iPhone, to appeal to phone fans shopping on a budget. So far Tim Cook and pals have been content to keep older models on sale at discounted prices instead of releasing entirely new mobiles though.

Will you splash out on the new iPod touch? Or is £200 still a lot to spend on something that doesn't also function as a phone? Let me know in the comments, or on our Facebook wall.