4th-generation iPod touch unboxing

Another year, another family of iPod products. Apple unveiled the fourth-generation iPod touch, the sixth-generation iPod nano, and the fourth-generation iPod shuffle at its September event last week, and they've just arrived at Pocket Gamer HQ.

The fourth-generation iPod touch is the most impressive of the lot, at least to our eyes. The latest version of the device boasts a 960x640 display, gyroscope, front- and rear-facing cameras, 720p video recording at 30 frames a second, and full iOS 4 support.

It's also slimmer than previous iPod touch models, and comes in 8, 32, and 64GB models.

Here's what it looks like getting undressed.

Still in its white plastic coat.

The first layer comes off to reveal an iPod entombed in a transparent box, like Lenin. If the screen looks unnaturally vivid to you, that's because it's a sticker.

The lid removal process can be a frustrating business if you don't look out for the invisibly thin pieces of sticky tape at either end.

It's free. Or is it?

No, it isn't.

Nearly there. In this picture the iPod touch, box, and packaging material combine to resemble a swan. Jony Ives is a genius.

"What's in the box?" wailed Detective Mills in the desert. If he'd been referring to this box, the answer would be, "some instruction books and warranty information, a couple of stickers, a set of Apple earbuds, and a cable."

What a fourth-generation iPod touch looks like in an average sized hand. Note the unusually well-defined 'courage and martial arts proficiency' line, recently identified by palmologists at MIT.

And the back. I'm taking these pictures with an iPhone 4, by the way, so this picture represents two fourth-generation Apple devices meeting each other for the first time. How do they feel? We'll never know. Note the camera and, beside it, the built-in microphone.

30 pin dock connector, 3.5mm headphone jack, and speaker. The fourth-generation iPod touch is noticeably thinner in the hand than the second-generation iPod.

It's also thinner on a desk. In case it's not obvious, the fourth-generation iPod touch is the one on top.

And here they are side by side. The fourth-generation iPod touch is the one on the right - note the greyer screen on the second-generation device.

Back to the edges. Here are the volume controls: two separate buttons, rather than the rocker seen on older models.

And finally the top, which houses the screen-lock button.