By AppleInsider Staff

Published: 01:58 PM EST (10:58 AM PST)

With Apple touting it as the most popular portable game player in the world, the iPod touch received a minor update on Tuesday, with a new white model available and a lower $199 entry price.

Apple boasted that the iPod touch now comes with iOS 5 and iCloud, as well as the traditional black color and a new white model. The 8GB model was previously priced at $229, but it has since been dropped to $199.

Pricing for the higher models remains the same, at $299 for 32GB and $399 for 64GB. With iOS 5, the iPod touch comes with iMessage, allowing for users to message with other devices like the iPhone and iPad, as well as the Game Center application with social networking and achievements.

"iPod has revolutionized the way we listen to music and with over 320 million sold is the world’s most popular music player,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. "iPod touch, now available in both black and white, is the best selling iPod ever, and with iOS 5 and iCloud it is better than ever."

Features of the new iPod touch, as highlighted by Apple, include:

• Includes iOS 5, which includes over 200 new features including iMessage, Game Center, Notifications and Wi-Fi Syncing to iTunes.
  
• iMessage brings the functionality of iPhone messaging to your iPod touch, so you can easily send text messages, photos, videos and contact information to an individual or group on other iOS 5 devices. It also allows you to easily maintain one conversation across all your iOS devices—for free—with notifications, read receipts and typing indication.
  
• Game Center enhancements include the ability to add photos to your profile, purchase new games from within the Game Center app, and even easier ways to find friends and new games.
  
• iPod touch also works with iCloud, Apple’s free cloud services, including iTunes in the Cloud, Photo Stream and Documents in the Cloud, that work seamlessly with your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac or PC to automatically and wirelessly store your content and push it to your devices. When content changes on one device, all your other devices are updated automatically and wirelessly.

Pricing & Availability

iPod touch with iOS 5 and iCloud will be available October 12 in black and white for a suggested price of $199 (US) for the 8GB model, $299 (US) for the 32GB model and $399 (US) for the 64GB model through the Apple Store (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers.

iPod touch requires a Mac with a USB 2.0 port, Mac OS X v10.5.8 or later and iTunes 10 or later; or a Windows PC with a USB 2.0 port and Windows Vista or Windows XP Home or Professional (Service Pack 3) or later and iTunes 10.5 or later.

iOS 5 will also be available as a free software update for iPod touch (third and fourth generations) customers allowing them to experience the amazing new features including iMessage, Game Center, Notifications and Wi-Fi Syncing to iTunes.

AppleInsider was first to report back in July that Apple would release a white iPod touch while otherwise leaving the digital media player untouched.