AP

Steve Jobs demonstrated new products at Wednesday's event.

Steve Jobs is back after nearly a year out of the limelight.

Apple's maestro received a standing ovation when he appeared before an invitation-only audience at the company's new product launch event in San Francisco on Wednesday.

Jobs, 54, is recovering from a liver transplant earlier this year, and he looked strikingly gaunt in his trademark collarless black, long-sleeved shirt and jeans. He used the platform to urge everyone to become organ donors; then it was down to business.

As has become the norm, Jobs used the stage (and his personal showmanship) to demonstrate a range of improvements to existing products, focusing this time on Apple's iPod lineup.

The iPod touch music and video player now has a new $199 starting price for its low-end model with 8 gigabytes of storage, a $30 price cut. The touch — which mimics most of the non-phone features of the popular iPhone — is being offered up as a cool music and video player and as "the most affordable gateway to Apple's revolutionary App Store," according to a statement from Apple executive Phillip Schiller.

As long as you're within range of a wireless Wi-Fi connection, you can use the touch to download from a selection of 75,000 applications expanding its usefulness as a portable computing device. Other models of the touch include a 32 gigabyte model for $299 and 64 gigabytes of storage for $399; that's enough to hold more than 14,000 songs or 80 hours of video.

Apple

The new iPod nano model has a built-in camera for shooting video clips.

The popular iPod nano line has added a camera that shoots video clips; curiously, there is apparently no way to snap a still photo. For the first time, the nano also comes with a built-in FM radio, an option common to other portable music players. But Apple has added a twist: A TiVo-like ability to pause and even rewind the live broadcast (up to 15 minutes). You apparently cannot record radio programs for later playback, however. Throw in a new pedometer, and the two nano models — 8 gigabytes of storage for $149 and 16 gigabytes for $179 — offer a lot of function for the money.

Some observers figured that the iPod classic — the "full size" music player that started the iPod craze — might be finished given the focus on the touch and nano lineup. But no; the classic lives on, with more storage (160 gigabytes) than ever. The feature set appears to be unchanged from previous models; there's no camera, no Wi-Fi. The price is $249, unchanged from the previous 120 gigabyte model.

And if you're just looking for a tiny, basic music player, Apple has dropped the entry price for its 2 gigabyte iPod shuffle model to $59; that's enough to hold about 500 songs. The 4 gigabyte version is $79.

It's hard to argue with Apple's success, although I continue to quibble with its "sealed box" philosophy. Why not give these music players a slot for a micro SD storage card to easily boost capacity and maintain multiple libraries of music and video? And how come there's no way for the user to change an exhausted battery?

Research in Motion

AT&T's BlackBerry Bold 9000 model had the highest level of radiation, according to the Environmental Working Group study.

How safe is your cell phone?

We all know about the very real danger of trying to talk or text while driving, but there is another potential health hazard — radio frequency radiation from the tiny transmitter inside that sends your voice or data to the nearest cell phone tower.

CTIA, the wireless industry's lobbying group, offers this reassurance to consumers: "The scientific evidence and expert reviews from leading global heath organizations such as the American Cancer Society, National Cancer Institute, World Health Organization, and the United States Food and Drug Administration reflect a consensus based on published scientific research showing there is no reason for concern."

The CTIA concedes that some studies have "suggested" that there is a connection between low-level radio frequency exposure and "negative biological effects," but that additional research has been unable to substantiate those findings.

The wireless industry further points to the FCC radiation limits that all cell phones must meet before approval by the federal regulatory agency.

The Environmental Working Group has been looking at the issue and raised an alarm in a study released Wednesday.

"We would like to be able to say that cell phones are safe, but we can't," the organization's senior scientist Olga Naidenko said in a news release.

She said the most recent science "raises serious issues about the cancer risk of cell phone use," and urged consumers to reduce their exposure to radiation.

A ten-month EWG study of more than 200 studies, advisories and industry documents concluded that existing FCC radiation standards are outdated and "permit 20 times more radiation to penetrate the head than the rest of the body."

EWG said part of their concern is based on the fact that cell phones are increasingly used by young people whose brains may be more susceptible to radiation.

The EWG study generated a database of more than 1,000 cell phones sold in the U.S., ranked by radiation. This report has generated a lot of online buzz, because I've been unable to access the data after a number of tries. It's a problem that's likely to be resolved in the days ahead (or perhaps even by the time you read this).

EWG's top 10 list of phones with the lowest emissions includes five models from Samsung and two from Motorola. Motorola is also represented on the bottom ten list of phones with the highest radiation, with five models.

The BlackBerry Bold 9000 from AT&T is said to be the worst of the bunch when it comes to radio frequency radiation.

Pending further studies, there are some common-sense ways to reduce your exposure to cell phone radiation.

• Use a wired headset. This lets you keep the handset away from your head and the rest of your body. While cordless Bluetooth headsets operate with a much lower transmission power than a cell phone, they still do create some radiation.

• Use the speakerphone function. Many handsets have this capability, which lets you use the phone at arm's length.

• Don't use a cell phone for extended calls. Longer exposure creates bigger risk (think about what happens when your skin is exposed to the sun), so keep wireless calls brief and use a wired phone (or at least a wired headset) for those marathon chats.

E-mail askwalt@wfaa.com