The iPod Nano may not be all its cracked up to be. Consumer groups around the world are waging a legal battle against Apple over alleged defects in the new miniscule music player.

In the latest round, consumers from the UK and Mexico have filed a lawsuit claiming defective and, in some cases, broken screens on the company's newest iPod, the Nano.

Consumer complaints in the ever litigious US of A led to the first class action suit. The Motherland and the region 'South of the Border' filed the second lawsuit.

The suits allege Apple were aware of design flaws in the Nano but instead of rectifiying the problem prior to release, the company ignored it in order to get the gadgets into stores and onto shelves.

Though the company did admit that a batch of its Nano music players were flawed, they denied there was a design flaw which made the litte guy more likely to scratch than other iPods (the suits allege a thinner resin was used on the Nano making it more susceptible to damage.)

"The far-reaching response reveals this is not just a small problem or a bad batch of Nanos," said Steve Berman, head Counsel in both suits.

Sales of iPods account for nearly a third of Apple's total sales.