By Leo Stiles
In what is fast becoming a regular occurrence this year, Steve Jobs took to the stage at a special event in San Francisco today to unveil a new range of hardware that includes a full revamp of the iPod line as well as a new iteration of  Apple TV.
The biggest announcement was the upgraded iPod Touch which now has all the hardware of the recent iPhone 4 including the HD display and front and rear cameras that will facilitate HD videos and Face Time; Apple’s over the internet video calling service. The new models
The iPod Nano also had a major redesign and now sports a touch screen and has been shrunk to nearly half the size of the previous model and will now be available in both 8 GB and 16 GB models. The iPod Shuffle was also redesigned and now has its buttons reinstated and will be available as a 2 GB model.
The new iPods will go on sale in Ireland immediately with the iPod Touch retailing at €229 for the 16Gb model, €299 for 32Gb and €399 for 64Gb. The iPod Niño start off at €159 and the Shuffle costs just €49.
Apple TV, the company’s unsuccessful media centre also saw a major revamp with a set-top box that is now a quarter of the size and sports a HDMI port, USB ports and a wireless internet connection. The new Apple TV also lost its hard drive as Apple moves towards a rental model that will stream HD movies for €3.99 for HD new release movies. The box will also enable you to stream music, videos and photos from your PC, Mac or iPad over your home network.
Apple TV will be available in Ireland at the end of September and will retail for €119.
