Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple, finally came back to the spotlight today after his medical leave that resulted in him receiving a live transplant.  Far be it from Steve to return empty handed though, as he also brought along a complete iPod line update for the 2009 holiday season.

iPod Shuffle

The iPod Shuffle is considered the entry level device, and as such, it rarely gets many updates. Last year it went to its current buttonless format, and nothing has changed about that this year.  The only difference is that there will be more headphone options available for it now that will include the built-in controls like those found on the currently included earbuds.

• $59 for 2GB
• $79 for a 4GB
• $99 for a a silver special edition 4GB
• Getting more headphone options this year

iPod Nano

The iPod Nano was the big surprise this year with it receiving the most updates by far.

While it has been heavily rumored that the iPod Touch would receive a camera this year, it was actually the Nano that was bestowed with that particular gift.  For a “mid-range” device, it was surprising to see it full video shooting capabilities.

• $149 for 8GB
• $179 for 16GB
• New video camera
• Now with an FM tuner
• Built-in pedometer
• Built-in microphone and speaker

iPod Classic

The Classic is the last iPod to still use a physical hard drive, and that had led many to believe that this particular model was doomed to not be produced this year.

Well, it still got produced, but the only thing to happen to it was that it increased from 120GB to 160GB, but retained the price of $249.

There is something to be said for the Classic and people that have enermous music collections (i.e. me).  Some of us don’t want to have to pick and choose what music we carry with us because it is such a subjective thing.  Your modds change, and with your moods, so does your choice in music.  I personally hope we will continue to see the Classic for some time, but my gut tells me that it is going away within the next 2 years for sure.

iPod Touch

This was probably the biggest let down of the day.

The iPod Touch had been heavily rumored to receive possible a camera and a microphone, but in the end it received neither of these things.  The only things that did end up happening with this particular model was that it received increases in processor speed and bumps to its memory capacity.

There have been some rumors that Apple had problems getting the cameras to work in the Touch, but that seems hard to believe since that would have meant a quick retooling of the bodies.

• $199 for 8GB
• $299 for 32GB
• $399 for 64GB
• Faster processor upping the speed by 50 percent

We’ll be back with our annual How To Choose An iPod guide tomorrow so you know which one, if any, is right for you this year!