Signalling the next stage of the iPod revolution possibly destined for these shores, Apple has revamped its line of iconic music players in America, introducing new versions and cutting the prices of previous models.

Apple will now sell a 6-gigabyte iPod mini that can hold 1,500 songs for $249 (£130).

The company also unveiled a 30-gigabyte iPod photo unit that can hold 7,500 songs and up to 25,000 photos for $349 (£185). Additionally, Apple cut the price of its 60-gigabyte iPod photo to $449 from $599.

Greg Joswiak, Apple’s vice president of iPod products, said the moves were made because the company wants to "turn up the heat" on its competitors in the digital music market.

"We are the leader, and we want to act like the leader," Mr Joswiak said. "We want to stay ahead of the others."

Apple's competitors for dominance of the digital music scene are growing fast - not least in the shape of mobile phone manufacturers keen to crack new markets.

It was announced this month that Sony Ericsson, the mobile phone giant, will launch high-quality digital Walkman mobile phones in March to benefit from the surge in the mobile music business.

"The Walkman showed us that people of every generation love listening to music while on the move, and we believe the mobile phone is the perfect device to extend the world of digital mobile music to a far wider audience," said Miles Flint, president of the Swedish-Japanese company.

Sony has sold more than 340 million Walkman music players globally in the past 25 years, in formats ranging from tape cassettes, to CDs and MP3 players, "illustrating the mass appeal of mobile music," Mr Flint added.

Others are following the same game plan. Nokia, the world’s largest cellphone maker, struck a deal with the software giant Microsoft and the American music download service Loudeye to make it easier for music fans to browse, buy and download digital music and ringtones on-line and play them on their Nokia handsets.

That deal was hailed as deeply significant, binding together two companies that had formerly resisted co-operation.

Meanwhile, Motorola has unveiled a new iTunes compatible mobile phone. The E1060 includes a version of Apple's iTunes music player software and allows users to carry a limited collection of music - without an iPod. Given that Apple claims iTunes, its online music store, accounts for 70 per cent of the global legal music download market, other handset manufacturers are likely to be keen to hop onboard.

The success of the iPod has fuelled an Apple revival since its launch four years ago. Before that, the computer company's sales had been flat. When Apple reported its first-quarter results in January, it revealed to delighted investors that iPod revenues had grown to $1.21 billion from $256 million a year before and accounted for almost 35 percent of Apple’s $3.49 billion in sales during the quarter. Today, Apple shares climbed $1.31 to $86.70 in early trading in New York.

The decision to cut the cost of Apple's products fits in with its recent migration to cheaper price brackets.

In January the company launched the Mac mini - a no frills computer that comes without a keyboard, monitor or mouse. The most basic version, equipped with a 1.25GHz processor and 40Gb memory, costs £339 in the UK.

Apple also launched the iPod shuffle, a music player the size of a packet of chewing gum that weighs as much as a car key and costs £99 for a 1GB model that holds around 240 tracks.

However, some of Apple's loyal British aficionados have found something to gripe about with the company's prices. In the UK, the 512MB version of the iPod Shuffle retails for £69. That is around 30 per cent more than in the United States, where the same player costs $99, or £53.

Apple, when questioned on the price discrepancy by Times Online in January, argued that the headline $99 price does not include American taxes and that the real difference works out at around £6. That is still around 10 per cent more than the American price, Times Online countered. "Well," said the man from Apple. "We think that's fair."

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