Just two months ago, we tested the iPod touch 2G with its latest firmware, but following Apple's announcements during September's keynote, the iPod touch 3G is here … or rather, we've got an iPod touch 2G with the insides of the iPhone 3G S.

So it's an iPod ...

It's difficult to see what's new about the touch 3G when you take it out of its packaging, as absolutely nothing has changed in terms of looks.  It's the same stainless steel alloy on the back which is so easy to scratch with your keys or cover in dirty fingerprints.  On the front, the screen hasn't changed either, and is still surrounded by a black frame, like a MacBook.

Unsurprisingly, the software hasn't changed either, with the main new feature being support for iTunes 9.  Navigating through the menus is still as fast and simple as it always was: the OS is impressively speedy.  GPS, WiFi and all the other services are as they were described in our test of the previous generation.

What else?

Ah yes: audio and video.  No change here, either.  The sound quality hasn't changed, nor have the equalizer presets or playback options.  The audio and video formats supported are the same.  Because they rely on the OS that powers the iPod touch, that was always going to be the case.  The score for audio and video quality remains at three stars.

So what's new?

The main change is the arrival of the architecture found in the iPhone 3G S, a more powerful system, that offers better performance (even better than on the iPhone 3G S), and with support for OpenGL ES.  To keep it simple, the new touch includes new features that will allow it to run more demanding games in the future.  The games console side of the MP3 player is strengthened, and the touch becomes more of a PDA, or as Apple puts it, a computer in your pocket.  Of course, we're still a long way behind the power offered by a PSP, but it's nevertheless a progressive evolution.

So by repositioning the touch as a pocket computer, Apple is distancing it from the world of MP3 players, which is not necessarily a bad thing, as it was never one of the best.  It's now aimed more squarely at occasional gamers who are fans of new technology and remain constantly connected.  It's the market that Nintendo tried to capture with the Wii and the DSi.  Still, the audio and video quality could also have been improved.