Before the world went gaga over the iPhone, Apple's ubiquitous music and media player enjoyed a similar (if not quite as stratospheric) level of fame and fandom, with the same kind of zealous rumour-mongering surrounding its annual updates as it evolved from music to photos to videos to apps, straddling new form factors along the way. And it seems the company hasn't forgotten about the iPod with this week's iPhone update; 9to5mac reports that Apple will be updating the venerable range on Thursday with a number of new iPod shuffles, nanos and touches. 

According to the site, new shuffles to start at US$49 will be available now in eight colours, while a redesigned nano with new components is also likely to eventuate, possibly streamlined to just one configuration/capacity this year. The biggest changes coming to the iPod line in 2012 seem reserved for the iPhone-esque iPod touch, which is expected to be skewed along budget and premium lines, with a new premium model adopting new design and features (such as the next iPhone's new dock connector). We'll have more for you on this when the models are introduced Thursday.