Apple iPod Buyers Guide... Helping You Identify The Different iPod Models

The iPod touch, like the iPhone, features an innovative 3.5in multi-touch screen display, Cover Flow music navigation, an accelerometer that automatically detects its position and orients the screen accordingly, integrated YouTube and Safari web browser.

It allows you to enjoy music and videos with the tap of your finger. Available in 8GB (1,750 songs) and 16GB (3,500) versions, it plays up to 22 hours of audio or 5 hours of video playback and includes the same Apple earbuds as in other iPods and uses a standard 3.5mm headset jack, which means you can use other headphones of your choice.

Video playback works much the same way as the iPhone, except some notable options not currently found on the iPhone.

To watch videos, go to the 'Settings' application, tap Video, and your video will start playing. A photo browser opens to the albums you've downloaded, and you see an array of thumbnail images when you choose an album.

From there, you can play a slideshow or touch an individual photo to open it. The images look great on the iPod Touch screen.

Turning the iPod touch on its side, you can browse your music in Cover Flow view by flicking your finger to move through your collection of albums. Tapping an album cover flips it around to reveal the contents of the album and tapping a track name will play it.

With an easy-to-navigate user interface featuring Cover Flow, the iPod touch lets you browse through the album cover for all the music in your collection. It also automatically adjusts the screen's brightness to match lighting conditions.

The iPod touch has a built-in Wi-Fi. This makes it a breeze to purchase and download music directly onto it via iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store. Just tap the iTunes icon in the bottom right corner of the iPod touch and via the Wi-Fi, you're at the Store.

You can also check your email using the Safari web browser, or watch YouTube videos by tapping the YouTube launcher located right on the home screen.

The iPod classic is slimmer, sleeker, with an improved video screen and if bigger storage is what you're looking for... to store your entire music collection... the iPod classic is definitely the iPod for you.

It comes in two versions -- 80GB and 160GB. The 160GB version accommodates an unbelievable 40,000 songs or 200 hours of video, holds up to 25,000 photos and now ships with three games... Vortex, Klondike, and iQuiz. These games are all new and sport much improved graphics.

It features an enhanced user interface with fancy visuals such as the split-screen menu with a preview of cover art and Cover Flow, with which you can browse music by album cover.

Videos, TV shows, games and pictures look great on the iPod classic's crisp, bright 2.5-inch screen (320 x 240 pixel). Battery life is improved dramatically. The 80GB new iPod classic can play 14 hours of music or three and a half hours of video whereas the 160GB model plays 40 hours of audio or 7 hours of video.

Syncing music and videos to the iPod classic from your computer is very easy. It is automatically updated when you add new songs, videos or create new playlists the next time it's connected to your computer if the iTunes 'Auto-sync' feature is turned on.

The 4th Gen iPod nano is cheaper, thinner and it's available in a rainbow of metallic colors.

The size and resolution of the display is the same as the third-gen's version at 2 inches and 320x240 pixels. The Nano is now thinner at 6.2 millimetres, and almost 12 grams lighter at 37g.

It now sports an elliptical cross section, meaning the screen has a slightly curved glass overlay. This makes the display slightly more reflective than previous models, but will not interfere with viewing photos or watching movies.

With a built-in accelerometer tilting the Nano 90 degrees brings on a parade of album covers organised by artist. Scroll through them speedily and the first letter of each is displayed beneath the whizzing images.

There's also a shake to shuffle feature that causes a random track to play when it's rapidly moved up and down.

Genius playlist creation allows you to choose a song when it's playing and will assemble a list of 25 songs that share the same mood to your original song.

The iPod nano 3rd Gen looks like a scaled down version of the iPod classic. It uses the same 320 x 240 pixel resolution as in the previous versions of the nano and can now play videos... and display is now 65% brighter than before.

Choose from two versions: the 8GB version holds up to 2,000 songs and is available in five colors (grey, blue, red, green and black) and the 4GB version holds up to 1,000 songs and it's only available in grey.

It plays up to 24 hours of music or five hours of video before recharging your battery. It outputs video and photos to a TV or projector via the dock-connector port.

Just like the iPod classic and iPod touch, the nano allows you to browse through your music using Cover Flow technology. Cover Flow technology is available via the 'Music' menu. Select this item and the nano's click-wheel lets you cycle through album cover.

The display is split in half with the menu's items on the left side and a preview of the selected menu item's contents... music, podcasts, playlists, artists... shown on the other side. The screen is stunningly clear and makes it easy to read even very small type face.

iPod nano 2nd generation comes in three capacities -- 2GB, 4GB and 8GB.

It has a scratch-resistant aluminium shell and rounded edges.

The 2GB model comes in only silver whereas the 4GB comes in bright blue, green and pink, and the 8GB comes in only brushed-metal black which holds up to 2000 songs or 25,000 photos.

The LCD screen is bright and displays the colors in a more than adequate manner. The text... such as the name of the song, the artist, the time it runs, etc... is easy to read and isn't too small for your eyes to comprehend.

Battery time seems longer than the previous nano and turns off by itself after being on standby for a certain amount of time.

This helps conserve the battery life without recharging and takes a very short time to recharge... about 45 minutes. It comes with an earbud, a USB 2.0 cable, dock adaptor and a quick start guide.

You can sync via a USB 2.0 cable only, and it has all the features found on the first generation iPod nano including Volume Limit, Stopwatch, Screen Lock, and support for Nike + iPod Sport Kit. Sound quality is second to none.

Measuring just 41 x 27 x 10.5mm and weighing only half an ounce, the iPod shufle is the smallest iPod yet. It stores 240 songs on its 1GB flash drive and has a built-in spring clip on the back that attaches firmly to clothing.

The shuffle's battery offers 12 hours of skip-free music playback. You'll be able to tell when battery power is falling via the battery indicator light on the side of it. Charging is pretty easy... via the included USB 2.0 dock connector.

The dock connector connects the shuffle to your computer for syncing (adding songs), and the iTunes 'AutoFill' feature automatically syncs it with new music each time you connect.

You can choose to listen to your tunes in the order you loaded them, or mix your songs with shuffle mode. The control pad allows you to pause, skip or repeat a track, so you are always in control of your music wherever you go.

At 1.6 x 1 x 0.4 inches and weighing only 0.6 ounce, the iPod Shuffle is the world's smallest MP3 player. It comes in a 1GB version, stores up to 240 songs and made of brushed aluminum.

There's still no screen, so you can't check what's playing, or easily find a specific track. You get a simple control pad on the face of the player... play/pause, volume and shuffle buttons.

The shuffle has a spring-like metal clip built into the back that clips onto clothing.

It houses two switches at the bottom edge... one for powering the unit on and off and the second for toggling between shuffle and repeat modes.

A headphone jack doubles as the Shuffle's USB syncing port and it's located on the top side of the device. There's also a tiny LED indicator that lights up different colors... orange, red, and green... depending on the status of the battery.

To charge and sync content to the iPod Shuffle, you'll need to use the included cradle. Battery life is very good for a device so small with up to 12 hours of music playback from a single charge.

Sound quality is good -- crisp, clear, and with enough bass to make thumpy songs sound good. The shuffle is cute, tiny and desirable.

Apple's iPod video is available in 30GB and 80GB capacities and comes in black or white. The 80GB Apple iPod video holds up to 20,000 songs or 25,000 photos... and... the 30GB Apple iPod video holds up to 7,500 songs or 25,000 photos.

The sharp and bright screen has a resolution of 320 x 240 pixels which makes it fun when you watch videos on it. Videos appear as a new item on the top menu and are divided by category including movies, video podcasts, and video playlists.

With its brighter display and vibrant color, your videos, photos and games come to life. The screen is also 60% bright, making it much easier to see in bright daylight.

Battery life is reasonable when playing back audios and videos. You can enjoy up to 20 hours of audio playback or up to 6½ hours of video playback in-between charges.

It has a search feature that allows you to scroll through alphanumeric characters using the 'Click-Wheel' when listening to music. It allows you to search for tracks on your iPod by a specific artist.

There's a 'Screen Lock' function that acts in the same way as a password-protected screensaver and allows you to use the 'Click-Wheel' to enter a four-digit combination to unlock the screen.

Games are a key feature of this iPod. As well as the built-in Brick, Parachute and Music Quiz, you can also purchase more games from the iTunes Music Store.

Included with the iPod are set of earbuds, a dock connector, a USB 2.0 cable and a slim protective case.