Apple fooled everyone today. The technology media was buzzing with pre-release news and rumors about Moto’s Rokr phone, which is underwhelming, to say the least. 100 songs. Big deal. I’m sure Moto will have more to say on the subject. It does sync with iTunes and can access the iTunes Music Store, but it is a lackluster opening salvo in what will undoubtedly be a fun contest to watch, as cell makers integrate more and more functionality around music into their offerings.

Apple’s real news - the iPod Nano - is a truly amazing little piece of technology. It is utterly tiny and holds 1000 songs. It is featherweight and solid state. And the coolest thing about it is it is a real iPod, not like the shuffle, which doesn’t have a display. This little thing has a color display. It appears to do everything the big brothers do, except maybe work with iTrip, iMic and the like. It holds your files, your audiobooks, photos, whatever.

This new iPod nano is one of those truly irritating devices. It instantly makes my 20GB 3rd Gen iPod completely “old”. It was holding its own against the 4th Gen iPods, but now its just yesterday’s news. iPod is dead. Long live iPod.