Apple iPod 20GB

The best just got tweaked - but is it any better?

Put yourself in Arsene Wenger's shoes. Your team's proven itself unbeatable, so you're not going to start making massive changes to the line-up, are you? So it is with Apple and its new iPod. While the fourth version of its MP3 player has some new and worthwhile improvements, the basic formula remains the same. It's still gorgeous, it's still ludicrously easy to use and it still has the best software for getting music loaded onto it in the first place.

What's new is the Click Wheel - borrowed from the iPod mini (T3 101, 5/5) - four hours of extra battery life (it's now up to 12), a mildly thinner design and a slightly cheaper price tag. The Click Wheel is a definite step forward. By putting the play buttons on the navigation wheel, the designers have shaved seconds off finding one of the 5,000 songs you can fit on the device.

The other good stuff includes superb sound quality, a cracking line of accessories and the fact that you can charge the player via both USB 2.0 and FireWire. We particularly like Apple's attention to details. Accidentally yanked the headphones out? The player will pause automatically. Want to play a random selection of music? The shuffle music feature's now one of the first options when you switch on the player.

Whichever way you look at it, there's very little wrong with the iPod. The battery life is certainly now below average - Sony, Creative and Rio's players all best it - but it'll be enough for most people. As for the lack of WMA, FM radio or line-in recording, we ask: do you really care?