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The new multitouch, miniaturised iPod nano caused most disagreement between Apple fans at today's London showcase, with some music fans claiming that it was the highlight announcement of the night, while others were moaning about the loss of video-recording on the nano.

As with any new consumer tech gadget, it really comes down to use value.

Which, in plain non-marketing-speak English means that whether or not you want to buy a new iPod nano later this month really depends on what you plan to use it for.

The new iPod shuffle: looks very much like the old one

Rather obvious, but then, most marketing-speak is, when boiled down to its actual meaning. And, for us, after a half hour or so of fiddling around with Apple's new iPod nano we can perhaps sum all of this up in one pithy and peremptory précis, which is this: if you like music, you'll most likely adore this new iPod nano, but if you like taking random videos to upload to YouTube with your last gen iPod nano, you will most likely hate this new one.

This is because Apple has just dropped the video recording facility from the new iPod nano and, instead, tried to make it into the tiniest multitouch screen music player you could imagine. It now looks very much like an iPod shuffle, only very slightly larger, and with that lovely little multitouch screen, to boot. It is clear why Apple has decided to drop video on the device, though, as the screen is just far too small to properly enjoy video playback.

Which brings us back to the new iPod shuffle. While it is still by far the cheapest iPod option for those on a budget, starting from £39 upwards, it is hard to see why anybody would plump for a shuffle over an above the new nano (aside from price), as both are very similar now in terms of their small and neat form factors. New to the shuffle is a VoiceOver button, which will read out track or artist information, playlist details or battery status in one of 25 different languages to you. Pretty cool, particularly for runners, although most of the attention at Apple's London showcase was being directed towards its funkier new (slightly bigger) brother.

The new iPod nano: Yes, they look like slightly big shuffles...

Before we had chance to have a play around with the new iPod nano, we first asked an Apple rep at this week's London press showcase if it did take video, because Steve Jobs had not mentioned that in his presentation (of course, why would he mention a dropped feature?). The rep looked a bit confused, then told us: "yeah, I think so, hang on, let me ask…" He then returned a minute later crestfallen, with the realisation dawning on him (and us) that Apple has actually removed a feature from the iPod nano, without bothering to tell us.

All that aside, who really cared about recording video with an iPod nano? It was a gimmick. Something to show off at parties and family gatherings, but not something that you would use in your normal life.

The iPod nano: take your pick from a range of colours

The new iPod nano looks like a slightly larger version of the iPod shuffle, yet it has this awesome multitouch screen with (as we've come to expect) a user interface that just works. Really well.

And from £129 upwards for the cheapest new 8GB 6th gen iPod nano, it is very hard to pick fault. Perhaps the most obvious problem is that, because it is so small, if you are in the habit of losing things (otherwise known as 'an idiot') then you are far more likely to lose this new iPod. Otherwise, it's all kinds of win, to use the slightly embarrassing internetular colloquialism.

Rock hand: hold your new iPod nano like Ozzy

It works, it's smaller and it has a touchscreen. And it was far and away the most surprising announcement from Mr Jobs this week. Nobody saw this one coming!

Oh, and it has an iPod shuffle-style clip, for you to clip it onto your low-slung jeans on the tube in an insouciant manner. The only thing wrong with it, as far as we could see today, was the fact that it ships with those awful white earbuds. But then, as a music lover, you've already got yourself some decent in-ears or custom moulds anyway, so that's a moot point.

You have got those, haven't you?

Multitouch marvel: the touchscreen control on the nano works a treat

Other potential 'downsides' to the new iPod nano? Some people might miss the physicality of the control wheel on the previous iteration. Not many though, we imagine, when they realise how quick and intuitive th capacitive touchscreen UI is.

As the screen is so small, you can see four iPhone app-alike icons on it at any given time. It's very cool and we'd pretty much mastered navigating the content on the thing in around 34 seconds. Approximately.

And if Apple's claims of 24 hours of audio playback are anywhere near reality, then this is a serious contender for one of the best value portable digital music players on the market right now. But then, of course, you will have to wait until our full no-holds-barred review to find out whether or not that is the case.

Out of all the new products Apple announced this week, it seems that the new iPod nano has split opinion more than anything else. Which, we hope, should prove to be a good thing for music lovers in the long run.

Samsung has announced the arrival of the Tic Toc, a fashion-themed MP3 player with motion control, aimed at "young women who want the latest fashion gadgets"

Announced this week, the Tic Toc is a palm-sized MP3 player and will be available in pink, blue, black and – in case you're still not sure who it's aimed at – a Hello Kitty theme.

Samsung really are pushing the Tic Toc at fashion fanatics, with the promise of a 'fashion case' and 'fashion earphones' aimed at "trendy fashion lovers".

Motion control makes a prominent showing on the Tic Toc, with the ability to skip songs by holding the device horizontally and shaking it left or right, volume is changed by holding the player vertically and clicking up or down, and three clicks skips to the next album on your playlist.

Up the tempo

The Tic Toc can recognise the speed of tracks and will play either fast or slow songs when asked to, depending on whether you want fast tracks for running or a slower beat for relaxing.

Georgina Franklin, Head of Channel Marketing says, "The Samsung Tic Toc is perfect for young women who want the latest fashion gadgets. With so many features on such a small MP3 player, it really is the latest must have colourful and fun accessory for music fans."

Due to the lack of a display, the Samsung Tic Toc will read out song names – just like the iPod shuffle – using Samsung's Digital Natural Sound Engine.

The Tic Toc has a UK release date of September with a choice of 2GB or 4GB of storage, with prices starting at £39.99.

The new iPod heart rate monitor from Nike is set to be released on 1 June, just in time for your summer jogging schedule.

The latest bit of Nike+ iPod kit will let you view your heart beat as you pound through the park on your run, listening in to your favourite tunes as you jog.

Run like the wind

The kit will be out in the US tjhis summer, according to a long-time contributor on the Nike+ forums who writes:

"I have a US launch date for the Nike+ compatible heart rate monitor. It will officially launch on 1 June, 2010, although it may reach some retail outlets slightly sooner.

"It will reach Canadian markets in June and will launch internationally in summer 2010, exact date to be determined."

No word yet from Nike on plans for a UK launch, but we expect to hear more on that front soon.

The first sales data from the US on sales of Apple's iPads shows that the new tablet PCs could well be cannibalizing sales of another popular product from the Cupertino computing giant – the humble iPod.

Luckily though, in addition to healthy launch sales of iPads, sales of Macintosh computers are also on the up this year, according to the latest market data from the NPD Group.

iPod sales declining

The new research report from NPD Group shows a 17-per cent year-to-year drop for April iPod sales, but a healthy 39 per cent increase for Mac sales, compared with the same time last April.

While British Apple fans still await its arrival, the iPad was released in the US back on April 3. Gene Munster, an analyst from Piper Jaffray thinks that the launch of the new tablet PC is adversely affecting sales of iPods, claiming that the NPD data shows:

"The first sign of the degree to which the iPad cannibalizes iPod or Mac sales." Munster adds that, "from the early NPD data, it appears that the iPad has a minimal cannibalization impact on Mac sales, and could be slightly cannibalizing iPod sales."

It is not yet clear if the iPad is going to have a significant impact on netbook or laptop sales from other manufacturers. Although industry analysts are keeping a close eye on those developments.

Sony is set to release a limited editionwater-resistant wearable Walkman, with camo-branding to celebrate theforthcoming release of the new Metal Gear Solid game on PSP.

You can even wear it in the shower, according to Sony.Although why you would want to is of course a different matter entirely.

Walkman in the rain (man)

"Uniquely styled with adistinctive green camouflage finish, the all-in-one, wire-free MP3 player alsocomes pre-loaded with six music tracks from the game," Sony informs us.

"Designed fortoday’s active lifestyles, the Walkman W252 is the first wire-free MP3 playerfrom Sony that resists rain splashes or the sweat of a gruelling gym session. Afterexercising, just rinse under the tap – or even keep listening during a post-workoutshower.

The latest Sony Walkman has a 2GBcapacity and provides storage space for around 470 tunes. It also comes bundledwith the 13.5mm EX Series headphones, which are also camouflaged, in case youneed to hide your ears.

A three-minute charge gives enough powerfor 90 minutes listening time. And the full battery will give you 11 hours oflistening time.

Sony’s PSP has its critics, for sure, but the new MetalGear title from Hideo Kojima really is something pretty special. We are stillless than a quarter of the way through it and can happily report that it is adelightful handheld gaming experience.

The Special Edition SonyWalkman will be available from June 2010 from www.sony.co.uk.

A Yale Professor has issued a stark warning on the dangers of listening to iPods and personal MP3 players at dangerously high volume.

Putting earphones into your ear canal intensifies the volume which can hit up to 120 decibels, which is the same as standing next to a jet engine, claims Professor Peter Rabinowitz of the Occupational and Environmental Medicine programme at Yale University.

Suffering from deafness and hearing problems later in life is one of the most common medical problems in older people, and is generally caused by long-term exposure to high volume noise.

Drive safely

Professor Rabinowitz, writing in the British Medical Journal this month, says that personal music player use has "grown faster than our ability to assess their potential health consequences."

Rabinowitz added: "Clinicians should advise current users to avoid listening to personal music players at maximum volume. Regarding other safety concerns, it would be prudent to advise removing earphones while driving and performing other safety-sensitive tasks.

"As clinicians come to grips with how electronic devices that afford so much pleasure may also produce harm, personal music players provide a reminder that our hunger for new technology should be accompanied by equally vigorous efforts to understand and manage the health consequences of changing lifestyles."

The EU is currently developing new regulations for the manufacture of personal music players.

Sony has added three very different Walkmans to its portable audio range, with the high-end and BBC iPlayer compatible A845, the ultra-portable B150 and the wearable W250.

Headlining is the A845, which boasts the rather nice addition of iPlayer compatibility and is apparently the first to support 720 x 404 pixel downloads.

The A845 is 7.2mm thick and weighs 62g – sporting a 2.8 inch OLED screen that delivers "superb colours, high contrast ratio, wide viewing angle and super-fast response time."

W250 and B-series

Next up is the W250 – wearable, water-resistant and obviously made for those who like to listen to music whilst running.

"Designed for today's active lifestyles, the Walkman NWZ-W250 series is the first wire-free MP3 player from Sony that resists rain splashes or the sweat of a gruelling gym session.

"After exercising, just rinse under the tap – or even continue listening to your Walkman during a refreshing post-workout shower."

Finally, the B series (with added bass) is designed for 'young music lovers' and brings bass boost button 'with flashing red LEDs'

The teen-friendly headset is compact (for hiding from the teachers we reckon) but, when combined with leaky headphones, will produce enough sound to annoy an entire bus-load of commuters.

Sony was showing a new customisable iPod dock device at this week's Gadget Show Live event at the Birmingham NEC, which uniquely gives users the opportunity to design the look of the sound system's front panel.

If you don't like your design for your new 'Sk8' iPod dock, then you can merely take out the paper that you have sketched or printed it on and try out another one.

Concept for kids

Sony reps were only able to tell us that the Sony Sk8 is currently still at the concept level and that there was no news on any plans for a commercial release just yet.

However, that said, there is already a listing online at HMV.com for the Sony Sk8, with pre-orders being taken for the device, priced by HMV at £169.99 with a planned release date of 1 June 2010.

It is certainly an interesting design strategy, and one which is bound to appeal to younger users who like to scrawl over and personalise their kit.

However, if that HMV pricing is anywhere near correct, the quality of the output is going to have to be something pretty special to warrant spending that amount of money on an iPod dock, with the iPod peripherals market being incredibly competitive.

We should hear more from Sony's Product Manager on the company's plans for Sk8 later this week, so stay tuned for updates right here.

iPod creator Tony Fadell is leaving Apple to work with eco-friendly tech companies.

Fadell is not the name most people immediately associate with iPod or Apple, with many linking the world-changing music player to designer Jonathan Ives and/or Apple CEO Steve Jobs.

Fadell has been at Apple for nine years. He stepped down as senior vice president of the iPod division back in 2008, but has stayed at Apple as a special adviser to Mr. Jobs since then.

Pastures greener

"My primary focus will be helping the environment by working with consumer green-tech companies," said Fadell on his exit from Apple. "I'm determined to tell my kids and grandkids amazing stories beyond my iPod and iPhone ones."

Fadell came up with the idea for a hard-drive-based digital music player in the 1990s and originally developed the idea brought with Real Networks, where only stayed for six weeks.

Mr. Fadell approached Apple in 2001, and the iPod followed soon after. Fadell was promoted head of the iPod division in 2006 – a position that he held through to 2008.

Consumers in Britain are highly confused about the laws on copyright, particularly those that relate to copying CDs onto a computer.

Consumer Focus said that the UK's copyright law is outdated that millions of Brits were unaware they were actually breaking laws.

Currently it is still deemed illegal for somebody to copy a CD or DVD onto a computer or a portable digital music or video player for their own use.

What is legal?

In a Consumer Focus poll of 2,026 people, 73 per cent of recipients said that they were unaware of the laws on what they legally were allowed to copy or record.

Consumer Focus' Jill Johnstone said: "The world has moved on and reform of copyright law is inevitable, but it is not going to update itself."

IT lawyer Nick Lockett, of DL Legal, added that the focus was not on individuals but on those commercial operations making a profit from illegally copying copyrighted material.

"The iPod has f***ed all of this, in a way. The decade we've just left will never be forgotten."

So says Simon Drake, 24-year-old owner/producer of indie record company Naim Label, who is trying to explain to TechRadar what the last 10 years have done to the music business - a time in which music has seemingly been commoditised, debased and devalued by everything from the X-Factor to CD giveaways, digital downloads and ringtones.

"When iTunes launched in 2005 in the UK in terms of selling music, it's amazing. Even the way they [Apple] dictated price: based on the knowledge that they were going to sell millions of iPods worldwide, saying 'screws you guys, we're going to sell it for 79p a song'. It's changed music. It has accelerated the culture of the under-pricing of music."

Music as a commodity

While 79p sounds like a great deal for the average X-Factor fan, Drake argues that the effect has been to make life much harder for specialised labels like his.

"We don't really shift enough units for iTunes to want to place our business. If all of my album sales were iTunes album sales I would have been out of a job a long time ago. What's happened is that Apple has dictated the price of music to the market, which at the time, was drastically less than it needed to be.

"It's fine if you're a major label, you can find other ways of making money, but we don't licence stuff to TV. We rely on the sales of music to the consumer. That's always been a big issue of mine. I've always been slightly angry that they [Apple] rushed off and set their own price and have dominated the market ever since because it [the iTunes Store] is so easy to use."

And dominate it has. Apple's iTunes Store became the biggest music retailer in the US last year with 25 per cent of all digital and physical music sales. Compare digital downloads alone, and iTunes' dominance rises to 69 per cent of the total US market.

In the UK the situation is arguably even worse, with iTunes share said to be around 90 per cent.

The impact is there for us all to see. Squeezed by supermarkets on the one side and digital downloads on the other, old school record shops have been rapidly disappearing from our high streets, leaving those that remain to focus on other, more profitable, areas instead. Last year HMV said music sales accounted for just 28 per cent of its revenue, a fall of 9 per cent in just two years.

NO-POD: Naim's Simon Drake has forthright views on the impact the iPod has had on the music industry

Another complaint you'll hear from creatives about the iPod and digital downloads is that they've not only devalued the financial currency of music, but they've made it disposable too. Ian Morrow, record producer (Seal, Wet Wet Wet, Lisa Stansfield) and co-founder of Kerchoonz, the social networking and music download site says:

"I was listening to what Warners said about its decision to remove its music from streaming sites and they were talking about the value of music - and the value of music is really important. Just by it being like running water, everywhere all the time, it has no value. It is a complete commodity. There is no 'must go down to the record shop this afternoon, because they'll probably be sold out by Monday'."

That's great if you're a massive music fan who doesn't like paying huge sums for long-deleted albums, but it also means the artefact - the record, the song, the download - no longer has any intrinsic value - at least not to a certain generation.

You can download something one minute and delete it the next - there's no sense of ownership or occasion like you had with a CD or vinyl collection any more.

Short attention spans

"It [the iPod] has become so prevalent in people's live's now that it's really helped accelerate this culture of having a very short attention span," says Naim's Simon Drake.

"In terms of what it does for the music itself? You watch kids on an iPod in a group, they'll play 20 seconds of a song, they'll all scream and laugh, and then they'll change it to the next 20 seconds of another song.

"We're not actually helping develop any love or desire towards music or the thought process behind actually making it. One of my biggest problems, is - as someone from the independent sector who's not trying to make a quick buck - I'm trying to make compelling albums that people will hopefully sit down and enjoy in their entirety.

"I don't think for a minute that Apple thought that was going to be the case. It's human nature, our will to be lazy is becoming ever more present. it's our fault, not Apple's fault."

One thing that frequently gets laid at the iPod's door is the issue of sound quality: from the way music is consumed as low bit-rate MP3 and AAC files, to the oft-cited argument that music producers now mix music so it sounds great on the crappy earbuds bundled with iPods. In truth, it's actually a lot more serious than that, says Kerchoonz Ian Morrow:

"If you get a kid who wants to be an [sound] engineer and wants to work in studios, they're all listening to things outside the realm of the way you're meant to hear... If you want a drum kit to sound good, you need to listen to it in a room, not on headphones.

"That's a major thing with the kids that are coming through. Most of the kids that I've heard demos from, they're all crap - the drums sound terrible. The first thing I say to them is have you heard a drum kit - go and stand right in front of it.

"If it sounds crap when you listen to it, it's going to sound crap when you record it. Now when you listen to things on headphones all the time, you're never going to learn that perception of what sound actually is."

HELPING ARTISTS: Ian Morrow and Indiana Gregg are the founders of Kerchoonz

Morrow's Kerchoonz co-founder and singer/songwriter Indiana Gregg agrees:

"I see kids who are talented, who could be into music or becoming sound engineers, but their point of reference is so screwed up. If you're going to produce something that has the sound of an MP3, that's all we're going to have probably 20 years from now when they all grow up.

"Because if you don't have a point of reference... it's like being a musician without any influences. You grow up in a cave and suddenly you want to be the next Beethoven? It's not going to happen."

LESS ABOUT MUSIC: Music is becoming less important to HMV. This diagram from its 2009 financial results shows that music makes up 28 per cent of its revenue – a fall of 7 per cent since 2009

Alan O'Rouke, MD and founder of Vita Audio is more optimistic. His company is just one of the many that has adapted to the changed landscape brought about by the iPod:

"Apple Premium Resellers are doing good business on audio systems these days. People are buying them from there.

"They're not going into hi-fi shops. Hi-fi shops still have this strange enigma where you don't go in there unless you know what you're talking about, like the Not The Nine O'Clock News sketch, you know? Very true really. [Apple Premium Resellers] provide a bright, fresh environment where it's good to go in. A lot of hi-fi shops are fairly back in the Dark Ages.

Roger Batchelor, product marketing consultant at Denon is another optimist:

"Many artists have more freedom and are running their own websites and have more control over the way their music is distributed than ever before. Music has always been a commodity for some, even back in the '60s and '70s we had those Top Of The Pops LPs with studio bands playing the hits of the day for the casual listener.

"At the same time, there were, and still are, dedicated music fans who love music with a passion."

Apple has won a legal battle in the US over claims that its iPod music players were responsible for hearing loss.

The claimants in the case said the iPod was defective because they were able to listen to it at a level of 115 decibels. Apple has been quick to claim otherwise, protecting the image of its digital music cash-cow.

A US appeals court judge upheld a 2008 ruling, saying "the plaintiffs simply do not plead facts showing that hearing loss from iPod use is actual or imminent" and added that Apple issued warnings relating to sensible use of iPods with each player.

iPods are not dangerous

"The plaintiffs do not allege the iPods failed to do anything they were designed to do nor do they allege that they, or any others, have suffered or are substantially certain to suffer inevitable hearing loss or other injury from iPod use," Senior Judge David Thompson wrote in a statement.

He added: "At most, the plaintiffs plead a potential risk of hearing loss not to themselves, but to other unidentified iPod users."

Despite the iPod touch being one of the finest devices ever conceived by mankind, the sad truth is one day your beloved iPod will die. It could be a simple blunt trauma to the face or old-age gnawing at its lithium-ion polymer power cell, but either way the Grim Reaper is going to get it.

If you own a first generation (1G) iPod touch - released back at the end of 2007 – then it's likely its battery is on the way out. Generally after 500 charge cycles a Li-pol battery's actual capacity is less than 80 percent of its original, or worse depending on how it has been treated. On top of this its life beyond three years isn't good.

Apple charges £66 to replace these batteries, while you can pick up a shiny new battery on Ebay for less than £6. The question is should you try to replace one yourself? If you can solder, then perhaps. If you also don't mind wrestling open tightly sealed cases and are good with tools, then yes.

The hardest part is initially opening the iPod itself - it's well built and tricky to open. We've done it and we're human, so with our guide you should be able to as well.

Be aware this will void any warranty. The advice is given in good faith and it's up to you as an individual to judge the appropriateness of the information and whether you follow it or not.

Step 1: You will need:

• iPod touch 1G
• Replacement battery kit with safe-open pry tools
• Soldering iron
• Small flathead screwdriver
• Small crosshead screwdriver

Step 2: The easiest place to start is at the dock-end of the iPod. Take the pry tool and insert it between the metal back and the chassis above the dock connector. Once in slide it towards the side away from the headphone socket.

Step 3: This creates a small gap in the side between the chassis and metal back. Insert the small flathead screwdriver into this gap and gently pry along until there's an audible click. This is the case clip coming undone.

Step 4: At this point insert the second pry tool and work your way along this edge 'unclipping' the case. You may need to use the flathead screwdriver, but ideally stick with the pry tool to minimise any cosmetic damage.

Step 5: With one side free the top and final side are easy to release with the pry tools and the back can be totally removed.

Step 6: The battery is glued to the iPod using three black pads. Use the pry tool to carefully remove it, by working it along the sides. Be careful, there are two ribbon cables underneath it, we've displayed these on the image, so avoid these areas. Secondly don't bend the battery, this could internally short it can cause it to explode.

Step 7: With this the battery swings free, at this point it can be replaced. Skip to step 14 for soldering advice. However we're going to continue taking the iPod touch apart, in case you want to replace the screen or have problems removing the battery. So remove the screw underneath the battery leads and the one next to the headphone socket.

Step 8: Use a pry tool to remove the screen connector ribbon cable from the iPod touch's main circuit board.

Step 9: Use a pry tool to remove the digitiser connector from the circuit board and remove the two screws from this as well.

Step 10: Use a flathead screwdriver to carefully prise the wireless antenna circuit board from the chassis. Do this by gently edging it along the inside-edge of the board until it comes free.

Step 11: At the other end of the iPod remove the strip of tape and the two screw hiding beneath it.

Step 12: Using a pry tool gently free the main circuit board, which is glued to the chassis.

Step 13: With this the entire electronics caboodle can be swung up and out of the way. This reveals a final circuit board stuck to the chassis. Use a pry tool and the flathead screwdriver to gently free this from its gluey bondage. Be careful as this section is quite thin, it may also get caught against the screw holes.

Step 14: The electronics are now free, this makes it a doddle to unsolder the original battery pack. Be careful not to short circuit the black and red power wires, as potentially this can cause the battery to explode if left in that state. We placed masking tape over one wire until soldering was required. A quick touch of a soldering iron on each lead's solder point should remove them. Remember to responsibly recycle your battery rather than throwing it away.

Step 15: Clean the area of gunk, cut the new batteries' terminal wire to the correct lengths and tin the ends. Just 1mm of tinned wire will be enough. You'll probably want to add a blob of solder to the circuit board's solder points as well. With that solder each wire in place.

Step 16: Retrace each step in reverse order and your iPod touch should end up looking like this. We found the circuit boards generally needed to be angled into place to get the screw holes to correctly line up.

Step 17: Replace the back making sure it's clipped into place right around the body. Most batteries ship with a 40 percent charge so press the power button and hope everything goes well. Success! You'll need to reset the time and date but beyond that happy iPoding.