Apple's latest iPod includes a colour screen and photo display capabilities, as well as a chunk of extra storage space.

Speculation was rife leading up to Apple's iPod announcement-- would Apple finally pull the trigger on an video-capable iPod, to compete with units like the Creative Zen Portable Media Centre? Some kind of iPod-Phone hybrid? The answer to both of those was no (at least for the time being), but what Apple did unveil was still definitely enticing -- the Apple iPod Photo.

Upside: The big addition to the iPod's capabilities is the inclusion of a colour screen capable of displaying photos, either on the iPod itself or out to any nearby handy television set. Combine that with a bump in storage capabilities -- in either 40GB (AU$799) or a whopping 60GB (AU$949) capability -- and you're talking a portable unit that can carry around an immense number of photos, not to mention all your favourite music. The colour screen also adds a nice visual touch to the unit's music playback and calendar features, all of which are of course coloured in the very familiar Apple style.

Downside: Many Apple fans may be smarting that the latest iPod is only photo-capable, but those are scars that will undoubtedly heal with time. In one sense it's no great step to take photos with you -- an existing iPod plus a data cable is a perfectly good repository for digital photos, albeit ones you can't access without then transferring out to another PC. That does bring up another point, though, which is that in its standard configuration there's no inbuilt capability to transfer photos from your digital camera to the iPod, so if you're thinking of using it as additional camera storage, you'll need to invest in some additional iPod accessories to do that. At 181g, it's also Apple's heaviest current-generation iPod, for what that's worth.

Outlook: Apple continues to improve on the basic iPod functionality one baby step at a time, and while some iPod fans may have been looking for more, at the prices and especially the capacities announced, the iPod Photo offers exceptional value and style in a compact package. Look for our comprehensive review soon.

Alex Kidman reports for CNET.com.au. You can read more from CNET.com.au here.

Copyright © 2009 CBS Interactive, a CBS Company. All Rights Reserved.
ZDNET is a registered service mark of CBS Interactive. ZDNET Logo is a service mark of CBS Interactive.