So for weeks and weeks the rumour mill ran hot about the “secret” upcoming Apple product release and it finally happens and… well, it’s not exactly a damp squib but it’s really not that exciting, is it?

I mean, Shuffle available in a range of colours. Hit me with a wet feather! Nano with video and radio capabilities, just like so many other “inferior” MP3 players. Punch me with a cat tail. iTouch with nothing much new about it at all except for a lower price point. Make me smell your shoe.

To be fair, it may not be Apple’s fault that we all get so worked up when there’s new of impending new product, and then feel so let down when it’s not the revolutionary (possibly fictional) new tablet.

And there are practical benefits to lowering the price of the iTouch and the Shuffle, and no-one will complain about the extra memory that you can get on the iTouch now (but I want 160GB, not 64GB!)

I guess we’re just spoilt, or maybe bored in this recession year with the lack of pizzazz in the market. It’s not that interesting products haven’t been coming out all over the place, just that there have been few with any real sales traction of buzz, and it’s buzz that translates to consumer excitement.

I can reveal that there have been heated exchanges in the Tone offices today about these new Apple products, and that the Apple converts amongst us, while a little disappointed, did find our hackles raising when the PC brigade started dissing the brand. There’s a fine line there somewhere that you can’t traverse. Yes, we’re a little deflated about the lack of innovation on display here, but we’re sure that this is just a temporary hiatus, and that Apple will once again come up trumps with something genuinely awe-inspiring next time. GARY STEEL

* See today’s news for all the info on the latest Apple releases.