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New iPods, software fixes for iPhone, Apple says

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The wait is over.

Apple fanatics have new iPods to choose from -- and software designed to reduce the number of dropped calls and other service problems that have plagued the new iPhone since it debuted this summer, the company announced today.

New quarter-inch thick nanos -- said to be the thinnest ever -- will come in eight colors and will arrive in stores in the next few days, Apple CEO Steve Jobs said at a press conference in San Francisco. The fourth-gen nano will be available in 8GB and 16GB models starting at $149.

At one-third of an inch thick, a new iTouch -- the grammatically cringe-worthy "funnest ever" -- is also being touted as super slender. Prices range from $229 for an 8GB unit to $399 for the 32GB music player.

And iPhone users who've been frustrated by malfunctions will likely be eager to download new software Friday that will minimize dropped calls and application crashes, as well as extend the device's battery life, the Washington Post reports.

Jobs, who battled pancreatic cancer four years ago, added that he's not dying.

"The reports of my death," read one of his slides at the product unveiling, "are greatly exaggerated."
 

(Image of iPods by Apple)