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iPod touch and iPod nano updated

Apple has updated the iPod touch and iPod nano. The touch now runs iOS 5, while the nano offers a variety of virtual watch faces.

Richard Trenholm Former Movie and TV Senior Editor
Richard Trenholm was CNET's film and TV editor, covering the big screen, small screen and streaming. A member of the Film Critic's Circle, he's covered technology and culture from London's tech scene to Europe's refugee camps to the Sundance film festival.
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Richard Trenholm
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Apple has updated the iPod touch and iPod nano. The touch now runs iOS 5, while the nano packs a number of virtual watch faces, including a Mickey Mouse one. But there's no sign of an update for the poor old iPod classic.

The new iPod touch runs iOS 5, so it offers over-the-air updates, advanced camera features, and built-in Twitter integration for several apps. It also offers iMessage, a free messaging service for chatting to friends and family who also have an iPod touch, iPhone or iPad. iMessage requires a Wi-Fi connection. 

The nano's square shape, first unveiled last year, quickly led to people sticking it on a strap and wearing it as a watch, and Apple has embraced that, announcing 16 watch-face screens. You can choose from a digital face or classy analogue-style faces. There's even a traditional Mickey Mouse face for retro time-telling fun times.

If you're a fitness freak, the nano records your walking and running to track your progress when exercising, without the need for any extra accessories. That means no need to tie a Nike+ recorder to your shoe when you head out for your nightly jog -- just fire up the Nike+ app, don your headband and pound that pavement, bro.

App icons are now bigger, which seems an odd decision. Instead of a small grid, you see large icons and swipe between them to find the app you want.

With no sign of an update for the iPod classic, could this be the end of the venerable music machine and its famous click wheel? The iPod touch may have its glamorous touchscreen for displaying games and videos in twinkling detail, but music lovers can't get enough of the iPod classic's capacious 160GB of storage.

UK prices haven't been announced for the new iPods yet, but, in the US, the touch will cost $200 (£130) for the 8GB model, $300 (£195) for the 32GB version, and $400 (£260) for the 64GB model.

The nano will cost $130 (£85) for the 8GB model, and $150 (£98) for the 16GB version.

The new nano and touch will both will launch on 12 October, the same day as iOS 5.