Ipod MINI

[Gary Sheynkman]

So what do you think of them???

I picked the whole "we want you to upgrade" option. For 50 bucks you get 10gb of storage, a larger screen, and more accesories available to you.

[Suhit Gupta]

I think it would make sense for folks looking to carry a smaller and lighter iPod, even though, as you point out, they would get a regular sized 15GB iPod for $50 more.

Suhit

[Janak Parekh]

I picked the whole "we want you to upgrade" option. For 50 bucks you get 10gb of storage, a larger screen, and more accesories available to you.
... and a larger device. The fact that Apple sold about 100,000 units already suggests that people do want a small device, and that 4GB is "enough". It's not necessarily for you or me, but rather the general public who might have hundreds of MP3s. (At quick check, my iTunes has 3243 songs, spanning 10.3 days and eating roughly 17GB.) As for accessories, most iPod Dock accessories will work fine with the Mini.

Also, from what I've heard, iTunes is even smart enough to adapt your library to the smaller device by automatically copying your "most-played" and "highest-rated" songs first.

--janak

[Zack Mahdavi]

I'm surprised 3 people picked the "I won't touch an iPod with a 15 foot pole" option. I wonder if they've ever even touched one.. Once you hold one in your hand, interact with the interface, push the buttons, you fall in love with it......

I liked it so much, I bought one of the second generation 10GB models a long time ago! I still carry it around with me all the time!

[Suhit Gupta]

I'm surprised 3 people picked the "I won't touch an iPod with a 15 foot pole" option. I wonder if they've ever even touched one.. Once you hold one in your hand, interact with the interface, push the buttons, you fall in love with it......

I liked it so much, I bought one of the second generation 10GB models a long time ago! I still carry it around with me all the time!
Yeah, I was a bit surprised too. I voted for the "It's a scam to get you to pay the "mere" $50 for the 15gb Ipod", although this was well before I saw the extensiv photographs of the mini ;-).

Suhit

[Lee Yuan Sheng]

Well, Apple has pushed back the international launch of the iPod mini as they're struggling to fufill orders in the US. I think it's more of a hit than anyone has thought it would be.

[Zack Mahdavi]

Well, Apple has pushed back the international launch of the iPod mini as they're struggling to fufill orders in the US. I think it's more of a hit than anyone has thought it would be.

Yeah, I read on Slashdot yesterday that Hitachi pledged to ramp up production of their 1 inch drives to meet demand. Hopefully this might push up that July release date.

[Raven]

I'm surprised 3 people picked the "I won't touch an iPod with a 15 foot pole" option. I wonder if they've ever even touched one.. Once you hold one in your hand, interact with the interface, push the buttons, you fall in love with it......


Maybe those folks are afraid they'd end up buying one right then and there if they held one. :lol:

I know I probably would (given the excellent build quality), not for me, but my girlfriend would sure enjoy it.

[Zack Mahdavi]

Maybe those folks are afraid they'd end up buying one right then and there if they held one. :lol:

Hahaha.. good point! :D

[igroknful]

I voted with Suhit because I think the Mini should have been significantly cheaper than the 15Gb. I have held, examined and listened to the Mini and it's a nice unit but for $50 more you can get 15Gb.

[Janak Parekh]

I have held, examined and listened to the Mini and it's a nice unit but for $50 more you can get 15Gb.
But the value proposition is not the capacity -- rather the size. You can't get a 15GB iPod in the Mini's formfactor. ;) The huge demand is testament to this fact.

--janak

[ruffas]

An alternative to the iPod (not necessarily the mini) is the iAudio M3 from Cowon Systems. Just launching in the UK.

http://www.mp3-plus.net/product.php?productid=12

Looks pretty smart and the reviews have been good.

http://www.mp3-plus.net/images/products/43.jpg

iPod rivals come and go but few seem to have any impact on its popularity. The £280 Cowon iAudio M3 MP3 jukebox has a better chance than most on account of its gorgeous silver design and the fact that it is significantly thinner and lighter than the Apple player.
To keep the size of the M3 down, the screen and several menu buttons have been incorporated into its remote. This is good, because it means you don't have to get the player out of your pocket when you want to change albums, but also bad as it is a tad fiddly to operate. The screen is a little small, too.

The M3 trounces the iPod in the features department. It supports MP3, WMA and Ogg Vorbis formats, can moonlight as a voice recorder, record directly from CDs/hi-fis and has an FM radio built in. In terms of sound quality there's little to choose between this and the iPod either.

This is a cracking MP3 player and at £280 for 20GB (around 5,000 tunes) it is £20 cheaper than the iPod. Well worth considering.

http://techdigestuk.typepad.com/tech_digest/2004/04/cowon_iaudio_m3.html

[mhuie]

I wouldn't go as to say that i wouldn't touch it with a 15 foot pole, but i have one, and can say that it has a perfect interface or buttons

sometimes they work, sometimes they dont. i still like when the jogdial was a moving part (precise movements aren't that great on the new touchpad).

and the interface could use some tweaking to make faster navigation..

but its still better than 90% of whats out there... so i can't really complain