Following the announcement of iOS 5 landing on October 12 from senior vice president of iOS softwareScott Forstall and senior vice president of internet software and services Eddy Cue’s iCloud refresher, Apple marketing boss Phil Schiller took the stage to talk iPod.

Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide product marketing, Phil Schiller, followed up news about iOS 5 and iCloud with the latest on the iPod line -- a surprising development considering many of us were certain the event would largely center around the iPhone.

"Good morning, everyone. I'm really pleased to talk to you about the iPod,” Schiller proclaimed. “We love music, and we're still making great iPods. I'd like to give you updates to two of the lines today."

Schiller introduced an update to the iPod nano released last year, with big icons on its multi-touch display instead of the usual four, an “improved fitness experience” as well as 16 new clock faces for those eager to make a watch out of the tiny media player -- including Mickey Mouse, which grabbed a round of applause. The new iPod nano is available today with an 8GB model priced at $129 and a 16GB model at $149 -- a $20 and $30 price drop from last year, respectively.

Next, the iPod touch gets a minor makeover. Schiller claims the device is the number one portable game player, and the device will be getting iOS 5 on October 12, same as the iPhone and iPad, along with iCloud and great features such as iMessage for chatting with friends over Wi-Fi.

This year’s iPod touch is a modest one, but as widely rumored, the device will be available in either black or “gorgeous” white starting on October 12, with new lower prices: 8GB for $199, 32GB for $299 or 64GB for $399.

So what about the iPod classic? While it may not have appeared on the slide behind Schiller during the keynote, the 160GB hard disk model lives on for $249, as does the 2GB iPod shuffle for $49 -- although both remain exactly the same as last year.

Apple’s “Let’s talk iPhone” event wrapped up this morning with announcements of a refreshed iPod nano and iPod touch, iOS 5 and iCloud arriving on October 12 and the new iPhone 4S hitting stores on October 14, with Sprint added as a third U.S. carrier and a 64GB model available for the first time at $399 with two-year agreement.

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