New 8 and 16 Gig iPod nano complete with video camera

Steve Jobs – complete with new liver from 20-something car crash victim – announced several new iPod models at the Apple launch in San Francisco this afternoon. Of most interest is the new iPod nano which now comes with video camera, mic and speaker as well as several new colours (now available in pink, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, silver and black).

It comes in two versions – 8 Gig for $159 and 16 Gig for $179. UK prices yet to be announced. Says Steve Jobs: “Video has exploded in the last few years…All those streams are coming from solid-state video cameras.” He adds, “We want to get on this,” as he shows the enthusiastic audience a picture of the Flip Video and its 4GB $149 price point.

The new iPod nano features a larger 2.2-inch color display and polished aluminum and glass enclosure. There’s a built-in FM radio with live pause and iTunes Tagging, as well as a built-in pedometer that will sync with Nike Plus.

“iPod nano is the world’s most popular music player with over 100 million sold,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “And now we’ve added a video camera to its incredibly thin design, without any additional cost to the user.”

iPod nano customers can share videos with friends using its display and speaker, or sync with a Mac or PC and share them on YouTube, MobileMe, Facebook or via email.

Genius Mixes automatically creates up to 12 endless mixes of songs from your iTunes library and Apple claims the new iPod nano provides up to 24 hours of music playback or five hours of video playback on a single charge.

The 8GB model holds up to 2,000 songs, 7,000 photos, eight hours of video and seven hours of captured video. The 16GB model holds up to 4,000 songs, 14,000 photos, 16 hours of video and 14 hours of captured video.