Apple iPod Nano - CNET

Last year, Apple didn't announce a new iPod, prompting rumors that the company might drop the popular music player from its portfolio. But that's the furthest thing from the truth.

Apple announced today at its special event in San Francisco two new iPods, including the fifth-generation iPod Touch and seventh-generation iPod Nano. The new iPod Nano is now very different from previous versions.

For one, the new player is now 0.21-inch (5.4mm) thick, which is some 40 percent thinner than its predecessor (the sixth-gen is 0.35-inch thick), and boasts a larger 2.5-inch multitouch screen. This means it's no longer square, but looks similar to the now-defunct iPod Mini. The volume rocker on the side also doubles as a way to play and pause the music, as well as scroll through it.

The new iPod Nano is now much thinner than the previous model.

(Credit: James Martin/CNET)

The larger screen means that you now can better view photos and videos with the little device. Apps designed for previous versions will still run on the new Nano, though. The new player comes with fitness and pedometer apps built in and is integrated with Nike+ out of the box.

Unfortunately, the new Nano doesn't have a Web browser, nor does it support Wi-Fi. This basically means you can't access the Internet with it (no iCloud, either). It does support Bluetooth 4.0, however, which will come in handy when you want to wirelessly stream to external devices.

The larger screen means that you can actually view photos on the device.

(Credit: James Martin/CNET)

Similar to the new iPhone 5, the seventh-gen iPod Nano comes with the new Lightning connector plug on the bottom left side; there'll be an adapter for it to work with the existing 30-pin charger that costs another $29. The bottom-right side is where the standard headphone jack is. Included with the player are Apple's new headphones, called EarPods, that "look unlike anything you've ever seen" and "sound unlike any earbuds you've ever heard." It's left to be determined what experience this "unlike" will translate into, but Apple really wants to make sure that the earbuds are now totally different from those that have accompanied the last models of the iDevices.

The new player also works as an FM tuner, a feature already available in the previous model, but the new Nano now can pause live radio and roll back up to 15 minutes of a live show. And then, of course, you can also fast-forward to catch up. I think this is one of the best features.

The new iPod Nano comes in seven bright colors, but just one single capacity of 16GB.

(Credit: James Martin/CNET)

Apple says the player offers up to 30 hours of playback. It'll be available for purchase sometime in October with one capacity of 16GB but in seven bright colors: purple, green, blue, yellow, red, black, silver. It'll cost $149.

It seems that all in all, the new iPod Nano makes a great accessory for hikers, runners, or campers. If you want to have extra storage space and some basic multimedia features while remaining relatively disconnected, the new Nano is for you. It's the bridge between the new full-size and full-feature iPod Touch and the bare-minimum iPod Shuffle, which remains the same: 2GB and costing $49.

Check back soon for the hands-on and in-depth review of the new iPod Nano.